Facts
- Technical rules on the labelling of olive oil for sale were adopted by Italy
- Approval had been sought under Directive 83/189/EC from the Commission, but a response had not yet been received
- Unilever and Central Food made a sale contract for olive oil affected by the Italian measure
- The product purchased did not comply with the new Italian rules
Issue
- Could the contract be avoided on the basis of its national non-compliance?
Decision
- No
Reasoning
- Just as in CIA Security v Signalson [1996], an unapproved national technical measure will breach EU law, and the directive governing this validity and approval (Directive 83/189/EC) is directly effective horizontally (exceptionally so) and could be relied on between two private parties
