Posted on 06/28/2002 5:25:52 PM PDT by Pokey78
But, isn't that supposed to be funny?
European laws which insisted that cucumbers and bananas could not be excessively curved and had to be of a certain shape were ruled "unenforceable" by the High Court yesterday.
Reversing two decades of regulations regarded by many as an affront to common sense, Lord Justice Rose said that EU quality grading standards imposed since 1973 were "unknown to law".
The ruling stripped the Government of many of its powers for controlling the shape, quality and description of fruit and vegetables.
After the hearing, lawyers for Asda supermarkets, which faced 14 charges under the regulations, said that food grading rules made after 1973 "covering almost everything that is on sale" were now unenforceable.
The Government immediately applied to the High Court for a Certificate of Public Importance enabling it to bring an appeal to the House of Lords as a matter of urgency.
Asda and one of its managers, Graham Godley, were accused of failing to comply with a number of EU regulations, made between 1981 and 1999, concerning the quality standards of fresh fruit and vegetables at its store in Fareham, Hants.
These included accusations of damaged Iceberg lettuces, a proportion of aubergines being either not fresh or dirty, no country of origin or quality class was indicated on oranges and lemons, plums lacking indication of country of origin, class or marking and cooking apples not marked with their variety.
All the charges were dismissed last November by District Judge Woollard, who said they related to alleged breaches of EC regulations made between 1981 and 1999, but those regulations had not been in force when the 1964 Agriculture and Horticulture Act was introduced, or when the 1973 amendment regulations came into force by virtue of the 1972 European Communities Act.
Domestic legislation had failed to allow for any subsequent addition to, or amendment of, the Community grading rules, he said.
Relying on an earlier High Court ruling in the 2001 case of the Ministry of Agriculture v Mayne and Chitty Wholesale Ltd, the judge said shops and stores that breached the post-1973 regulations could not be successfully prosecuted.
Lord Justice Rose, upholding the district judge's decision yesterday, said the courts were entitled to follow the principles enunciated in Mayne and Chitty.
He said District Judge Woollard "was not wrong to conclude that the offences charged [against Asda] were unknown to law".
The victory was particularly sweet for Asda, which in 2000 urged the European Commission to reconsider applying its "confusing" regulations on curved cucumbers. Rule 1677/88 said a cucumber could only be given a premium Class One label if it curved less than 10mm every 10cm.
A 1994 ruling drew accusations of "Euro lunacy" after it attempted to regulate the curves in bananas.
A spokesman for Asda supermarkets said: "There is absolutely no crusade on our part, but we welcome the fact that the courts have looked at the position and come to the same conclusion as our lawyers.
"We will continue very vigorously indeed to defend the allegations that have been made against us. Had we been found guilty, we would have been fined up to £70,000 and one of our employees could have been imprisoned."
If any further appeal fails, the only way for the Government to give legal effect to the regulations - many of which are considered to provide necessary protection for the consumer - will be to amend the existing legislation.
An EU spokesman said the rules, which classify food by shape, size and quality, were aimed at upholding food standards, but they had been pilloried in Britain as the work of meddling "Eurocrats".
A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which brought the prosecution, said: "We will continue to pursue this case.
"We have lost on a technicality of law but not on the underlying principle."
Bless you for this ping - I'm forever in your debt.
I love Steyn's writing.
Monty Python were ahead of their time. This reads like one of their shows, except that it is deadly serious to those pinheads in Brussels.
And you don't think this is funny?
You can say that again..
I think my opinion runs right along the lines of post #4
Statist douche bags with nothing better to do than fret over the curvature of a banana. (how long before the EU implodes? A decade, or less?)
But the very thought of "banana nazi's" sucks the laughter right out of it.
THE BANANA MAN!!!
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