Recent Opinion of the Advocate General on Football Broadcasting Rules

On February 3, 2011, Advocate General (“AG”) Kokott advised the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJ”) in two pending cases that she considers it unlawful for an EU Member State to prohibit the use of TV decoders made available lawfully for domestic use in another Member State. The AG’s Opinion is not a judgment; it is a reasoned argument prepared for the benefit of the CJ. The CJ is not bound to follow the opinion of the AG but has historically done so in the majority of cases. This Alert Memo summarizes the background to the case, sets out the principal aspects of the AG’s Opinion, and offers some thoughts on its wider implications.