Science in the Courtroom EU Courts Wisely Steer Clear of Judicial Passivism Joined Cases C-71/23 P and C-82/23 P, France and Commission/CWS Powder Coatings and Others [2025] ECLI:EU:C:2025:601

Abstract In a ruling delivered on 1 August 2025, the Court of Justice upheld a General Court judgment annulling the classification as a suspected carcinogen of titanium dioxide in powder form containing at least 1% of particles of a diameter equal to or below 10 μm. Both EU Courts criticise the scientific assessment underlying that classification, but the Court of Justice relies on conceptual distinctions that reveal its reluctance to perform a genuine “manifest error of assessment” review. While these issues are not addressed by the Court of Justice, the case also raises thorny questions regarding the meaning of “intrinsic properties” of a substance.