FREEDOM TO PROVIDE SERVICES : COURT BACKS TOURIST BAN IN DUTCH COFFEE SHOPS.

PositionBrief article

Coffee shops at the Dutch border risk losing a significant proportion of their customers because the districts in which they are located can limit access to these establishments to Dutch residents only, who represent close to 70% of their clientele. This was the decision taken by the EU Court of Justice, on 16 December 2010, in response to a question by the Dutch Council of State(1). The latter was consulted regarding a dispute between the municipality of Maastricht (Netherlands) and the owner of a coffee shop, Marc Michel Josemans, who was forced to close his establishment for having sold cannabis to a customer not residing in the Netherlands.

The Dutch Supreme Court asked the Court of Justice whether this regulation, which establishes a distinction between residents and non-residents, constitutes a restriction to the free movement of goods or freedom to provide services. The Community judges in Luxembourg responded in the affirmative: "That restriction is...

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