Report from Luxembourg: ANH Does Well in Court- Verdict to Be Rendered in June

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Wed, 26 Jan 2005 11:02:07 +0100

 

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Report from Luxembourg: ANH Does Well in Court- Verdict to Be

Rendered in June

 

 

 

 

IAHF Webmaster: Breaking News, Codex Emergency, EU FSD, Whats New, What

to Do, All Countries

 

IAHF List: Greetings from Luxembourg! See the press release below from

ANH. We had a great hearing yesterday in the EU Court of Justice, the

Alliance's lead lawyer Paul Lasok QC performed flawlessly. This really

the beginning, rather than the end of the road. There is a huge amount

to do from here including helping US & European citizens to appreciate

that their ability to chose natural products to manage their health is

still under enormous threat.

 

This landmark case brought by ANH is designed to set a framework for

ingredients which can be used in natural products. You'll see in the

press release below, that we must wait until June before the court will

make its final ruling, and we cannot speculate before this time for

obvious reasons. The control of maximum dosages has now been handed

over to

the UN and this will now be the key battleground in months ahead. I will

issue another alert tomorrow which includes a wake up call to US

citizens from Rob Verkerk of ANH in an article he just had published

by ACAM.

This article should be circulated very widely as it will help people to

connect the dots in this complex international issue.

 

I'll be back in the USA on January 28th.

 

ECJ ADVOCATE GENERAL DESCRIBES VITAMIN AND MINERAL BAN " AS TRANSPARENT

AS A BLACK BOX "

UK government decides not to attend court hearing to make its

objections to the challenge

 

PRESS RELEASE

For immediate release 25 January 2005

 

EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE ADVOCATE GENERAL DESCRIBES VITAMIN AND

MINERAL BAN " AS TRANSPARENT AS A BLACK BOX "

UK GOVERNMENT DECIDES NOT TO ATTEND COURT HEARING TO MAKE ITS

OBJECTIONS TO THE CHALLENGE

The Alliance for Natural Health today presented its oral submission to

the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg in its landmark case

challenging the ban in the EU Food Supplements Directive on 75% of

vitamin

and mineral forms currently sold in the EU market.

 

Opposing oral submissions were made by the European Commission, the

Council of Ministers, the European Parliament and only one EU Member

State, Greece.

 

UK Government does not present its objections to the challenge.

Interestingly, neither the UK government nor Portugal attended to

present oral arguments despite having filed Written Observations in the

case. This means that none of the major EU countries felt the need to

oppose the ANH's application for a declaration that the ban in the

Directive

was unlawful.

 

David Hinde Solicitor and ANH Legal Director said:

 

" Given the vigour with which the UK government resisted this

application at the Judicial Review stage, it was extraordinary it did

not now

think the issue sufficiently important to warrant being represented at

the

ECJ to make oral submissions. The question inevitably arises whether

this signifies a change of attitude on their part and a retreat from

their previously bullish position about the legality of the Directive. "

Paul Lasok QC, a world leading expert on EU law, representing the ANH

opened the proceedings and systematically undermined the legal and

scientific basis of the Directive, highlighting contradictions between

various arguments put forward by the key bodies involved in developing

the

Directive, namely the European Commission, the Council of Ministers and

the European Parliament.

 

When asked by Judge Lenaerts as to the origin of the positive list

which appeared to have been derived from an old list produced by the

European Commission, and so omitted a vast array of nutrients that can

normally be found in food, Mr Lasok responded:

 

" The list was put together without adding, without subtracting and

without thinking. "

Advocate General Geelhoed, the senior judge at today's hearing,

appeared to be baffled by the procedure for adding nutrients to the

positive

list, which he described:

 

" As transparent as a black box. "

Dr Robert Verkerk, executive director of the ANH said after the

hearing:

 

" It was remarkable that the vast majority of points that we had gone to

great length to show the Court were not countered in any effective way

by the opposing parties. The Commission, the Council and the Parliament

were not able to give any adequate scientific explanations for why so

many forms of vitamins and minerals that naturally occur in foods could

be banned across the EU. "

Final judgement expected in June 2005

The Advocate General announced that he would deliver his opinion on 5

April 2005, while the Court is expected to give its judgment in June,

shortly before the ban would otherwise be set to come into effect on 1

August 2005.

 

ENDS

 

For enquiries and further information contact:

 

Alliance for Natural Health

www.alliance-natural-health.org

 

David C. Hinde, Solicitor, Legal Director

Tel: 0207 738 1640

Mobile: 07958 548 186

E-mail: davidh

 

Dr Robert Verkerk, Executive Director

Tel: 01252 371 275

Mobile: 0771 484 7225

E-mail: robv

 

IKON Associates

(PR for the Alliance for Natural Health)

 

Adrian Shaw

Tel: 01483 535102

Mobile: 0797 9900733

E-mail: adrian

 

Notes for editors:

 

The Alliance for Natural Health is a Europe-wide association of

manufacturers, distributors, retailers, consumers and complimentary

practitioners who have an interest in food supplements. More information,

including details of members, will be found at

www.alliance-natural-health.org

 

Good science and good law underpin all of the ANH's work, and the

scientific reports produced by the ANH are endorsed by many of the

world's

leading doctors and scientists working in the field of nutrition.

 

If the ban on vitamins and minerals is implemented there is much at

stake:

 

Over 5000 products will disappear from the shelves of UK health stores

as a result of the ban removing access to over 300 vitamin and mineral

ingredients (out of a total of 420). These include amongst others the

main natural forms of Vitamin E, many forms of vitamin C and MSM and

minerals such as vanadium, silicon and boron, all being products which

millions of consumers choose to take as part of their regular health

regime and have done so without any ill effects for many years.

An individual's freedom of choice to take safe natural health products

will be removed - 40% of the UK's population take vitamins and

minerals.

Products are to be banned with absolutely no scientific justification.

Many of the world's leading scientific and medical experts in nutrition

support this.

25-Jan-05

For Health Freedom,

John C. Hammell, President

International Advocates for Health Freedom

556 Boundary Bay Road

Point Roberts, WA 98281-8702 USA

http://www.iahf.com

jham

800-333-2553 N.America

360-945-0352 World

 

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