 On April 1, 2008, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled to overturn the exclusion clauses under the EU RoHS Directive that allowed the use of decabromodiphenyl ether (deca-BDE). This means that from July 1, 2008, electrical and electronic products sold in Europe must not contain decabromodiphenyl ether. |
| In October 2005, the European Commission added decabromodiphenyl ether (DBD) to the RoHS Directive as an excluded substance. However, in January 2006, the European Parliament initiated preliminary proceedings to withdraw the exclusion from the RoHS Directive at the European Court of Justice. The reason given was that the European Commission did not have the authority to exclude DBD, and therefore the exclusion was a decision exceeding its authority. The European Commission's authority is to exclude the use of specific chemical substances for which there are no safer alternatives, and it is **not based on risk assessment**. |
| The European Court of Justice agreed that the European Parliament did not have the authority to exclude decabromodiphenyl ether from the European Commission, therefore this exclusionary item will be abolished after June 30, 2008. |
