27It is also clear from the judgments cited above in Commission v Spain, paragraph 41, and Commission v Finland, paragraph 54, that although the percentages referred to above are not legally binding, they can none the less constitute, by reason of the scientific value of the work of the ORNIS Committee and the absence before the Court of any element of scientific proof to the contrary, a basis of reference for assessing whether a derogation granted under Article 9(1)(c) of the Directive complies with that provision (see by analogy, in respect of the relevance of scientific data in the field of ornithology, Case C-3/96 Commission v Netherlands [1998] ECR I-3031, paragraphs 69 and 70, and Case C-374/98 Commission v France [2000] ECR I-10799, paragraph 25).
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