Selling Drugs on the Internet: the State Council Has Ruled

In a decision released this July 17, the State Council annulled Article L 5125-34, incorporated into the public health code by an order dated 19 December 2012.

Pursuant to this Article, the only drugs that could be sold on the Internet were those that could be freely accessed at a pharmacy counter (about 450).

Confirming the suspension of this provision, pronounced summarily on February 14, the State Council ruled that this provision was contrary to the European directive on the subject which authorises the sale on the Internet of all drugs that are not subject to medical prescription (about 4,000).

The State Council approved the other provisions of the order as well as the implementing decree of 31 December 2012.

Therefore, altogether, the Government must "review its work," but only with respect to its definition of the drugs that can be sold on the Internet.
It will likely intervene during the parliamentary debate on the ratification law of the order.

The matter was brought before the State Council by two pharmacists whose BENHAIM pharmacy is located in Paris.

They were advised by the CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre firm along with Bernard Geneste and Saliha Rhaimoura.

For more information, please contact:

• Nicolas Merigeau, NewCap
  nmerigeau@newcap.fr
  +33 1 44 71 94 98
  
• CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre
  Florence Jouffroy, Communication and Marketing Director
  Laetitia Mostowski, External Communication Manager
  florence.jouffroy@cms-bfl.com, laetitia.mostowski@cms-bfl.com
  +33 1 47 38 40 32 / 40 74