Minimum Alcohol Pricing inScotch Whisky Association v Lord Advocate

The Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 empowers the Scottish Ministers, by Order, to set a Minimum Price per Unit of alcohol (MPU). A draft Order setting the MPU at £0.50 was immediately challenged by the Scotch Whisky Association on the basis that it would be contrary to EU law as a restriction on the free movement of goods. The Scottish Government justified the measure as being designed to protect public health. In this piece I will highlight some of the key free movement issues raised by the case.