R v Secretary of State for the Home Office, ex parte Arthur H Cox & Co. Ltd

Judicial review of the decision of the respondent refusing to grant it an import licence under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 authorising the importation of Dihydrocodein Tartrate from Hungary and Codeine Phosphate from Australia, two countries outside the EC, whilst granting it an licence to import Dihydrocoden Tartrate from Italy, a country within the EC.

The Court held that the decision of the secretary of state was lawful as it could be justified under Art. 24 of EC Regulation 3285/94 which held that the Secretary of State could prohibit the import of such products on the grounds of the protection of health and life of humans.

David Pannick QC and Thomas de la Mare represented the applicant.