Some Remarks on the ‘Shechita Case’ of the ECJ

Abstract

The author of the current scientific article strives to introduce and analyse the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) Centraal Israëlitisch Consistorie van België judgement alongside with the opinion of the advocate general. In the said judgement, the ECJ – contrary to what the advocate general proposed – stated that ‘[the law of the European Union] must be interpreted as not precluding legislation of a Member State which requires, in the context of ritual slaughter, a reversible stunning procedure which cannot result in the animal’s death.’ The author of the article analyses the points where the advocate general’s opinion and the Grand Chamber’s judgement differ on the interpretation of EU law and analyses the conformity of the respective interpretations with EU law.