On Thursday 4 May, the European Court of Justice reached a decision on case C-339/15 and ruled that a general and absolute prohibition in Belgian law of any advertising for the provision of oral and dental care services is incompatible with the freedom to provide services (Article 56 of the Treaty) and the Directive on electronic commerce (2001/31/EC).
European judges were responding to a referral from the Dutch-speaking Brussels court of first instance regarding a complaint about the compliance of such legislation with the EU rules. The Belgian court had been approached by the Belgian dentists’ association, which had filed a complaint against a Belgian-based dentist for violating Belgian legislation by advertising his services on the advertising board in front of his surgery, announcements in newspapers and on a website.
The Court considers that Belgian legislation on this subject is too restrictive and exceeds what is necessary to achieve the legitimate objectives pursued by the authorities: protecting the dignity of the dental profession and avoiding an excess of advertising regarding the services proposed, which could lead to a patient error, affect trust between practitioner and patient or promote the provision of inappropriate healthcare services or services that are unnecessary.
This legislation is contrary to the legislation on electronic commerce because it bans any form of electronic advertising, including websites created by dentists. The judges consider that this absolute ban is excessive and that the form and substance of commercial communications could be covered appropriately by professional rules. The ban is also contrary to the free provision of services because it restricts the possibility of dentists advertising themselves to a potential clientele and promoting their services. (Original version in French by Francesco Gariazzo)