Criminal and administrative law consequences of the ECJ ruling

Regarding the consequences of the European Court of Justice's ruling, the general consensus is that they cannot yet be fully foreseen. There are calls for legislative action, claims for damages are being considered, and possible sanctions in the form of fines and penalties are also being discussed.
Indeed, Regulation (EC) No. 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2003 on genetically modified food and feed (OJ EC No. L 268 of 18 October 2003, p. 1) already provides that Member States shall lay down provisions on penalties for violations of the provisions of the Regulation and shall take the necessary measures (Article 45, paragraph 1, of Regulation (EC) No. 1829/2003). The penalties must be effective, proportionate, and dissuasive (Article 45, paragraph 2, of Regulation (EC) No. 1829/2003).
In our country, this obligation has been implemented through the provisions of Sections 6 and 7 of the EC Genetic Engineering Implementation Act – EGGenT-DurchfG of 22 June 2004 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 1244, as amended by Article 2 of the Act of 9 December 2010 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 1934). As is always the case with criminal and administrative fine provisions, these are difficult to understand. Section 6 Paragraph 1 No. 1 EGGenT-DurchfG stipulates that anyone who places a foodstuff named in Article 3 Paragraph 1 of Regulation (EC) No. 1829/2003 on the market is committing a criminal offense if, among other things, the foodstuff does not have an authorization.
This is the reason why there is now a flurry of activity as people stock and clear grocery shelves. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has just ruled that genetically modified corn pollen in honey is an ingredient subject to authorization under Article 3 (1c) of Regulation (EC) 1829/2003. Anyone who places contaminated honey on the market is therefore committing a criminal offense. The milder sanction of a fine is not provided for in this case. This harsh consequence becomes understandable when one compares the penal provisions of the EC Genetic Engineering Implementation Act with those of the Genetic Engineering Act. There, too, violations of the strict licensing requirements are generally punishable.

This publication can also be found on the website of the law firm Dr. Kauch .