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Professor Panos Koutrakos has been mentioned in the Opinion of Advocate General Ćapeta of the European Court of Justice in Case C‑538/25 Flugzeugherstellerin EU:C:2026:790.
This case was referred to the Court of Justice by the Federal Administrative Court of Austria. It is about the definition of dual-use items under Regulation (EU) 2021/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2021 setting up a Union regime for the control of exports, brokering, technical assistance, transit and transfer of dual-use items. The Regulation sets out a system of export controls on items and technologies ‘which can be used for both civil and military purposes’ (Article 2(1)). The questions by the referring court are about the export to Myanmar of a civilian aircraft designed for basic pilot training, and related items and technology: given that they could be used for reconnaissance flights and to train military pilots and, therefore, in connection with human rights violations, are these items of dual-use with the meaning of Regulation 2021/821?
In her Opinion, delivered on 24 September 2026, Advocate General Ćapeta proposed that the term ‘dual-use’ be interpreted on the basis solely of the item’s objective capabilities by reference to its physical characteristics at the time of exportation. According to her analysis, considerations such as the end-user, the (situation in the) country of destination, the potential for diversion, and other factors are not relevant to the definition of the product but, rather, to whether a Member State may require an authorisation for such product.
In her Opinion, she referred to the book written by Professor Koutrakos entitled Trade, Foreign Policy and Defence in EU Constitutional Law: The Legal Regulation of Sanctions, Exports of Dual-use Goods and Armaments (Hart Publishing, London, 2001).
Professor Koutrakos has written widely and advised on EU law governing exports, sanctions, and defence industries. He is the author, amongst others, of the authoritative books EU International Relations Law 2nd edition and The EU Common Security and Defence Policy.