| Short Name: | Unilever v Central Food |
| Court: | ECJ |
| Submitdate: | 7 December |
| Submityear: | 1998 |
| Decidedate: | 26 September |
| Decideyear: | 2000 |
| Fullname: | Unilever Italia SpA v Central Food SpA. |
| Celexid: | 61998CJ0443 |
| Casenumber: | C-443/98 |
| Ecli: | ECLI:EU:C:2000:496 |
| Language: | Italian |
| Nationality: | Italy |
| Judgerapporteur: | C. Gulmann |
| Judgepresident: | G.C. Rodríguez Iglesias |
| Judge1: | L. Sevón |
| Judge2: | R. Schintgen |
| Judge3: | P.J.G. Kapteyn |
| Judge4: | J.-P. Puissochet |
| Judge5: | H. Ragnemalm |
| Judge6: | M. Wathelet |
| Judge7: | V. Skouris |
| Advocategeneral: | F.G. Jacobs |
| Legislationaffecting: | Article 177 of the EC Treaty; Council Directive 83/189/EEC, as amended by Directive 94/10/EC of the European Parliament |
| Keywords: | Direct effect |
Unilever Italia SpA v Central Food SpA (2000) is an EU law case, concerning the conflict of law between a national legal system and European Union law.
Unilever sold olive oil to Central Food, which refused to pay on the ground the oil did not comply with Italian law. This was a ‘technical regulation’ under Directive 83/189. Unilever claimed damages for breach of contract. The question was referred to the European Court of Justice, whether the Directive precluded enforcement of the contract.
The European Court of Justice upheld Unilever's claim that the law could not be applied. The Directive was a procedural bar to adopting national legislation.