List of European Court of Justice rulings explained

The following is a list of notable judgments of the European Court of Justice.

Principles of Union Law

Direct effect

Treaties, Regulations and Decisions

"The [European Economic] Community constitutes a new legal order of international law for the benefit of which the [Member] States have limited their sovereign rights".

"The Court ... has the jurisdiction to answer ... questions referred that ... relate to the interpretation of the treaty."

States can provide in national legislation for appropriate sanctions which are not provided for in the regulation, and can continue to regulate various related issues which are not covered in the regulation

Directives

Member States are precluded by their failure to implement a directive properly from refusing to recognise its binding effect in cases where it is pleaded against them, thus they cannot rely on their failure to implement the directive in time.

There is no obligation of harmonious interpretation where the national measure, interpreted in the light of the directive, would impose criminal liability.

Notwithstanding the Kolpinghuis ruling, the creation of any other kind of legal disadvantage of detriment, save for criminal liability, is very well possible.

Primacy

Community law takes precedence over the Member States' own domestic law.

Duty to set aside provisions of national law which are incompatible with Community law. The Court ruled that:

National law must be interpreted and applied, insofar as possible, so as to avoid a conflict with a Community rule.

Duty on national courts to secure the full effectiveness of Community law, even where it is necessary to create a national remedy where none had previously existed.

Enforcement of EU law

EU law has not established its own system for its enforcement or for aggrieved parties to seek remedies for breach of EU law.[3] In the absence of such a system,

Rejection of the reciprocity principles of general international law

"[I]n [the defendants'] view, … international law allows a party, injured by the failure of another party to perform its obligations, to withhold performance of its own … However, this relationship between the obligations of parties cannot be recognized under Community law ... The treaty is not limited to creating reciprocal obligations ... but establishes a new legal order ... [T]he basic concept of the treaty requires that the Member States not take the law into their own hands."[4]

Fundamental rights

"Fundamental rights [are] enshrined in the general principles of Community law and protected by the Court."

Fundamental rights are an integral part of the general principles of law the observance of which the Court ensures.

When protecting fundamental rights, "the Court is bound to draw inspiration from constitutional traditions common to the Member States, and it cannot therefore uphold measures which are incompatible with fundamental rights recognised and protected by the Constitutions of those States." The Court can also draw on international human rights treaties to which Member States have collaborated or are signatories.

Fundamental rights affect the scope and application of Community law. In Carpenter, the Court weaved principles of respect for family and private life from Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights into its analysis of the rights of Union citizens. It concluded that the right of a minor child to reside in a Member State under Community law brought with it a corollary right for his mother to reside there as well.

The legislative organs of the union cannot make laws which allow private sector organisations to discriminate on the grounds of gender even if such discrimination is based on relevant and accurate actuarial and statistical data.

Law of the institutions

Acts

Acts of the European institutions must be supported by sufficient reasoning, the validity of which shall be examined by the Court.

Legislative process

The European Community does not have the power under the treaties to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Liability

The Plaumann test sets out the criteria for non-privileged applicants to prove individual concern: 'Applicants must show that the decision affects them by reason of certain attributes which are peculiar to them or by reason of circumstances in which they are differentiated from all other persons and by virtue of these factors distinguishes them individually just as in the case of the person addressed.'

In this case the court took a more liberal approach than the restrictive Plaumann test for establishing individual concern, which was, however, not followed in judgements thereafter.

Interim orders

Article 186 of the Treaty of Rome stated that the Court "may, in any cases referred to it, make any necessary interim order".[5] Article 39 of the Treaty of Nice's Protocol on the Statute of the Court of Justice (2001) states that "the President of the Court may, by way of summary procedure ... prescribe interim measures in pursuance of Article 243 of the EC Treaty or Article 158 of the EAEC Treaty".[6]

In Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Belgium (1994), the president dismissed an application for interim measures submitted by the commission on 11 March 1994 because the commission had "not displayed the diligence to be expected". The commission had been aware of an alleged breach of the procurement directives in October 1993, and had referred on 8 February 1994 to its "intention" to seek the suspension of a public supplies contract, but did not apply for an interim order until 11 March 1994.[7]

Competition

Leading cases on competition law include Consten & Grundig v Commission and United Brands v Commission.

The last three cartels referred to above were those known as the "advanced manifest system" cartel, the "peak season surcharge" cartel and the "currency adjustment factor" cartel.[17]

Consumer protection

Three cases which impact on the national courts' approach to considering fairness in consumer contracts are:

Contractual obligations

Data protection

Employment

External relations

External trade

Intellectual property rights

Internal market

Free movement of goods

Definition of "goods"

'Goods' are "products which can be valued in money and which are capable, as such, of forming the subject of commercial transactions".

"Waste, whether recyclable or not, is to be regarded as 'goods'."

Customs duties and equivalent charges

Articles 23 and 25 EC prohibit as between Member States all "customs duties on imports and exports and of all charges having equivalent effect". The prohibition in Article 25 also applies to customs duties of a fiscal nature.

Customs charges are prohibited because "any pecuniary charge, however small, imposed on goods by reason of the fact that they cross a frontier constitutes an obstacle to the movement of such goods."

A charge having equivalent effect to a customs duty is "any pecuniary charge however small and whatever its designation and mode of application which is imposed unilaterally on domestic or foreign goods by reason of the fact that they cross a frontier and which is not a customs duty in the strict sense." This is the case "even if it is not imposed for the benefit of the State [and] is not discriminatory or protective in effect, or if the product on which the charge is imposed is not in competition with any domestic product."

Charges imposed for a public health inspection carried out on the entry of goods to a Member State can be a charge having equivalent effect to a customs duty. It was not important that the charges were proportionate to the costs of the inspection, nor that such inspections were in the public interest.

A charge for a service will not be regarded as a customs duty where it: (a) does not exceed the cost of the service, (b) that service is obligatory and applied uniformly for all the goods concerned, (c) the service fulfills obligations prescribed by Community law, and (d) the service promotes the free movement of goods in particular by neutralising obstacles which may arise from unilateral measures of inspection.

Indirect taxation

Article 110 EC prevents any Member State from imposing, "directly or indirectly, on the products of other Member States any internal taxation of any kind in excess of that imposed directly or indirectly on similar domestic products". This prohibition also extends to "internal taxation of such a nature as to afford indirect protection to other products".

Quantitative restrictions

Article 34 EC bans "quantitative restrictions on imports and all measures having equivalent effect shall be prohibited between Member States", the same provision in respect of exports is found in Article 35 EC.

Quantitative restrictions are "measures which amount to a total or partial restraint of, according to the circumstances, imports, exports or goods in transit."

Measures having Equivalent effect to a Quantitative Restriction (MEQRs)

The following are prohibited as Measures having Equivalent effect to a Quantitative Restriction (MEQRs): "all trading rules enacted by Member States which are capable of hindering, directly or indirectly, actually or potentially, intra-Community trade."

Justification

Article 36 EC exempts quantitative restrictions which are justified on grounds of "public morality, public policy or public security; the protection of health and life of humans, animals or plants; the protection of national treasures possessing artistic, historic or archaeological value; or the protection of industrial and commercial property". The restrictions must not, in any case, "constitute a means of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade between Member States".

Commission v Austria cases

Cases C-320/03 and C-28/09 found that rules prohibiting use of part of the A12 Autobahn by lorries of over 7.5 tonnes carrying certain goods were an unjustified restriction of the free movement of goods, even though the relevant Austrian laws were a response to the EU directives on air quality.[27]

Product liability

The Product Liability Directive aims to ensure undistorted competition between economic operators, to facilitate the free movement of goods and to avoid differences in levels of consumer protection.[28]

Free movement of persons

Workers

Citizenship

Freedom of establishment and to provide services

Establishment

Services

Non-application of single market principles

Investment

Jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments

Police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters

Procurement

Procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors

Public procurement

[either]

Notes and References

  1. See also Marshall v Southampton Health Authority
  2. InfoCuria, Commission v Spain, 13 September 2001, accessed 11 June 2021
  3. Edwards, D., The impact of the EU law principle of effectiveness, Francis Taylor Building, Solicitor's Journal, published 19 June 2012, accessed 25 January 2023
  4. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:61963CJ0090 Commission of the European Economic Community v Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Kingdom of Belgium, joined cases 90/63 and 91/63
  5. https://www.cvce.eu/obj/treaty_establishing_the_european_economic_community_rome_25_march_1957-en-cca6ba28-0bf3-4ce6-8a76-6b0b3252696e.html Article 186
  6. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Nice/Protocol_on_the_Statute_of_the_Court_of_Justice Protocol on the Statute of the Court of Justice
  7. EUR-Lex, Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Belgium, Order of the President, Case C-87/94 R, 22 April 1994, accessed 28 January 2021
  8. European Commission, Decision 89/15/EEC, 2 August 1989
  9. European Court of Justice, Press Release 81/98, The Court of Justice applies "reasonable time" rule and reduces fine imposed on company, 17 December 1998, accessed 5 May 2023
  10. 2005
  11. European Sources Online, Press Release: Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-231/03. Consorzio Aziende Metano (Coname) v. Comune di Cingia de’ Botti. The awards by a municipality of a public service concession to a company with predominantly public share capital must comply with transparency criteria, published 21 July 2005, accessed 4 November 2022
  12. InfoCuria, Joined Cases C‑501/06 P, C-513/06 P, C-515/06 P and C‑519/06 P, published 6 October 2009, accessed 4 November 2022
  13. EUR-Lex, Prezes Urzędu Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów v Tele2 Polska sp. z o.o., devenue Netia SA, judgment of 3 May 2011, accessed 7 February 2023
  14. EUR-Lex, Protimonopolný úrad Slovenskej republiky v Slovenská sporiteľňa a.s., published 7 February 2013, accessed 1 February 2023
  15. European Court of Justice, A supplier of luxury goods can prohibit its authorised distributors from selling those goods on a third-party internet platform such as Amazon, Press Release 132/17, published 6 December 2017, accessed 21 November 2023
  16. Court of Justice of the European Union, The Court of Justice upholds the fines imposed by the Commission on a number of companies for their participation in cartels in the international air freight forwarding services sector, Press Release 09/18, published 1 February 2018, accessed 1 February 2021
  17. European Commission, Antitrust: Commission imposes € 169 million fine on freight forwarders for operating four price fixing cartels, Brussels, published 28 March 2012, accessed 8 February 2022
  18. European Court of Justice, Case C-243/08: Pannon GSM Zrt. v Erzsébet Sustikné Győrfi, paragraph 35, delivered 4 June 2009, accessed 24 May 2024
  19. European Court of Justice, Intercontainer Interfrigo SC (ICF) v Balkenende Oosthuizen BV and MIC Operations BV, case C-133/08, delivered 6 October 2009, accessed 22 May 2024
  20. EUR-Lex, Maximillian Schrems v Data Protection Commissioner, published 6 October 2015, accessed 28 July 2021
  21. Personnel Today, TUPE test cases serve as good employer guideline, published 27 July 2004, accessed 7 March 2021
  22. Prechal, S. and de Leeuw, M. (2007), "Dimensions of Transparency: The Building Blocks for a New Legal Principle?", Review of European and Administrative Law, Vol. 0, No. 1, pp. 51-61
  23. European Court of Justice, Case C-149/96 Portugal v Council, accessed 10 June 2021
  24. EUR-Lex, Council Resolution of 8 June 1993 on the quality of drafting of Community legislation, 8 June 1993, accessed 10 June 2021
  25. EUR-Lex, Adidas-Salomon AG and Adidas Benelux BV v Fitnessworld Trading Ltd., European Court Reports 2003 I-12537, accessed 1 December 2023
  26. Court of Justice, The Court specifies the conditions under which goods coming from non-member States that are imitations or copies of goods protected in the EU by intellectual property rights may be detained by the customs authorities of the Member States, Philips Electronics NV v Lucheng Meijing Industrial Company Ltd. and others; and Nokia Corporation v Her Majesty’s Commissioners of Revenue and Customs, 1 December 2011, accessed 7 February 2021
  27. Court of Justice of the European Union, The traffic prohibition for lorries carrying certain goods on the Inn valley motorway in the Tyrol is incompatible with the free movement of goods, Press Release 138/11, published 21 December 2011, accessed 19 December 2023
  28. ECJ, The liability of a public healthcare establishment, in its capacity as a service provider, does not fall within the scope of the Product Liability Directive, Press Release 142/11, published 21 December 2011, accessed 28 January 2023
  29. ECJ, Union nationale des entraîneurs et cadres techniques professionnels du football (Unectef) v Georges Heylens and others, published 15 October 1987, accessed 10 January 2023
  30. European Court of Justice, Judgment of the Court (First Chamber), 8 May 2013. Eric Libert and Others v Gouvernement flamand (C‑197/11) and All Projects & Developments NV and Others v Vlaamse Regering (C‑203/11), accessed 8 December 2022
  31. InfoCuria, Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber), 24 January 2013: Stanleybet International Ltd (C‑186/11) William Hill Organization Ltd (C‑186/11) William Hill plc (C‑186/11) Sportingbet plc (C‑209/11) v Ipourgos Oikonomias kai Oikonomikon Ipourgos Politismou: requests for a preliminary ruling from the Simvoulio tis Epikratias, joined Cases C‑186/11 and C‑209/11, published 24 January 2013, accessed 7 July 2022
  32. European Court of Justice, Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 29 November 2007: Commission of the European Communities v Republic of Austria. Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 – Organic production of agricultural products – Private inspection bodies – Requirement of an establishment or permanent infrastructure in the Member State where the services are provided – Justifications – Connection with the exercise of official authority – Article 55 EC – Consumer protection
  33. Court of Justice of the European Union, The service provided by Uber connecting individuals with non-professional drivers is covered by services in the field of transport, Press Release No 136/12, published 20 December 2017, accessed 22 April 2022
  34. EUR-Lex, RI.SAN. Srl and Comune di Ischia, Italia Lavoro SpA, formerly GEPI SpA, Ischia Ambiente SpA, Case C-108/98, delivered 9 September 1999, accessed 15 January 2024
  35. Web site: Judgment in Case C-284/16 - Slowakische Republik v Achmea BV. Court of Justice of the European Union. 6 January 2024.
  36. https://curia.europa.eu/common/recdoc/convention/gemdoc2009/pdf/04-z-en-09.pdf Marco Gambazzi v DaimlerChrysler Canada Inc. and CIBC Mellon Trust Company
  37. EU Pillar, C-381/08 Car Trim GmbH v KeySafety Systems Srl (Fourth Chamber) (2010) ECR I-01255, University of Aberdeen, accessed 10 February 2021
  38. EUR-Lex, Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber), 29 January 2013. re: Ciprian Vasile Radu, accessed 19 May 2024
  39. European Court of Justice, Case C-513/99 - Concordia Bus Finland Oy Ab, formerly Stagecoach Finland Oy Ab v Helsingin kaupunki and HKL-Bussiliikenne, 17 September 2002, accessed 7 June 2023
  40. InfoCuria, Commission of the European Communities v Hellenic Republic, Case C-394/02, published 2 June 2005, accessed 5 October 2022
  41. EUR-Lex, Wasser- und Abwasserzweckverband Gotha und Landkreisgemeinden (WAZV Gotha) v Eurawasser Aufbereitungs- und Entsorgungsgesellschaft mbH. Reference for a preliminary ruling: Thüringer Oberlandesgericht – Germany. Procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors – Public service for the distribution of drinking water and the treatment of sewage – Service concession – Definition – Transfer to the supplier of the risk connected with operating the service in question. Case C-206/08, published 10 September 2009, accessed 23 August 2022
  42. https://curia.europa.eu/juris/showPdf.jsf?docid=95121&doclang=EN Gebroeders Beentjes BV v State of the Netherlands
  43. EUR-Lex, Opinion of Mr Advocate General Darmon, paragraph 37, delivered on 4 May 1988, accessed 25 December 2023
  44. Heard, E., Evaluation and the audit trail, Bevan Brittan, published 8 June 2016, accessed 31 December 2023
  45. EUR-Lex, Judgment of the Court, 2 August 1993, in Case C-107/92, accessed 8 March 2021
  46. EUR-Lex, Gestión Hotelera Internacional SA and Comunidad Autónoma de Cananas, Ayuntamiento de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Gran Casino de Las Palmas SA, published 19 April 1994, accessed 3 November 2023
  47. European Court of Justice, Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Belgium: Judgment of the Court, Case C-87/94, 25 April 1996, accessed 28 January 2021
  48. InfoCuria, C-225/98 – Commission v France, Judgment of the Court of 26 September 2000, accessed 13 June 2022
  49. EUR-Lex, Council Directive 93/37/EEC of 14 June 1993 concerning the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, accessed 19 February 2021 Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
  50. InfoCuria, Commission of the European Communities v French Republic, delivered 1 February 2001, accessed 19 February 2021
  51. European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion and Directorate-General for the Internal Market and Services, Buying Social: A Guide to Taking Account of Social Considerations in Public Procurement, 2010, accessed 6 June 2023. © European Union, 2010: reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged
  52. EUR-Lex, EVN AG and Wienstrom GmbH v Republik Österreich, judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber), 4 December 2003, paragraph 15, accessed 6 June 2023
  53. Court of First Instance (First Chamber), Tideland Signal Ltd v. European Commission, Case T-211/02, published 27 September 2002, accessed 2 October 2023
  54. Taylor, S., Judgment was handed down on 31 October 2017 by Mr Justice Coulson in R (Hersi & Co Solicitors) v The Lord Chancellor (as successor to the Legal Services Commission), Keating Chambers, published 8 July 2017, accessed 2 October 2023
  55. https://curia.europa.eu/juris/showPdf.jsf?docid=55648&doclang=EN La Cascina Soc. coop, arl, and others v. Ministero della Difesa and Others
  56. European Court of Justice, C-331/04 - ATI EAC and Others, delivered 24 November 2005, accessed 24 May 2024
  57. European Court of Justice, Case C‑444/06, Commission v. Kingdom of Spain, published 3 April 2008, accessed 31 October 2022
  58. InfoCuria, Varec SA v État belge, accessed 18 November 2022
  59. European Court of Justice, pressetext Nachrichtenagentur GmbH v Republik Österreich (Bund), APA-OTS Originaltext-Service GmbH and APA Austria Presse Agentur registrierte Genossenschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, Case C-454/06, delivered on 19 June 2008, accessed 9 January 2024
  60. Office of Government Commerce, Requirement to distinguish between "selection" and "award stages of a public procurement, and to give suppliers complete information about the criteria used in both stages, Action Note 04/09, published 29 April 2009, accessed 23 September 2023
  61. InfoCuria, Assitur Srl v Camera di Commercio, Industria, Artigianato e Agricoltura di Milano, judgment given 19 May 2009, accessed 5 October 2023
  62. Office of Government Commerce, Procurement Policy Note – Time Limits for Challenges under the Public Procurement Regulations. Action Note 03/10 22 February 2010, accessed 9 August 2023
  63. InfoCuria, Action brought on 20 October 2008 - Commission of the European Communities v Ireland (Case C-456/08), published 6 December 2008, accessed 19 March 2023
  64. Crossen, K. and Gunn, D., Order 84A of the Rules of the Superior Courts, Mondaq Ltd., published 6 January 2011, accessed 19 March 2023
  65. European Court of Justice, A contracting authority in a tendering procedure must seek explanations from a tenderer in the case where the tender appears to contain an abnormally low price, Press Release 39/12, 29 March 2021, accessed 9 December 2022
  66. Court of Justice of the European Communities, Econord SpA v Comune di Cagno (C-182/11) (2012) EUECJ C-182/11 (29 November 2012), accessed 11 June 2021
  67. https://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?docid=142822&mode=req&pageIndex=1&dir=&occ=first&part=1&text=&doclang=EN&cid=3424140 Case C-94/12, Swm Costruzioni 2 SpA and Mannocchi Luigino DI v Provincia di Fermo
  68. European Court of Justice, Case C-552/13, Grupo Hospitalario Quirón SA v Departamento de Sanidad del Gobierno Vasco and Instituto de Religiosas Siervas de Jesús de la Caridad, published 22 October 2015, accessed 10 March 2021
  69. Smith, R., Specifying location requirements, Local Government Lawyer, published 19 November 2015, accessed 18 March 2021
  70. Strada Lex, General Court of the European Union - Order of March, 11 2013 in the case no T-4/13 (ECLI:EU:T:2013:121), accessed 24 December 2022
  71. http://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?language=en&num=C-413/17 C-413/17 – Roche Lietuva
  72. Case C-149/77, Gabriellc Defrenne v Société Anonyme Belge de Navigation Aérienne Sabena, 15 June 1978, accessed 28 January 2021
  73. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:62013CJ0549&from=EN Case C-549/13 Bundesdruckerei GmbH v. Stadt Dortmund
  74. https://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?language=en&num=c-97%252F90 C-97/90 – Lennartz v Finanzamt München III
  75. HMRC, Revenue and Customs Brief 2 (2015): VAT grouping rules and the Skandia judgment, published 10 February 2015, accessed 5 December 2023
  76. Simpson, P., VAT Groups: recent cases and proposals for reform, Old Square Tax Chambers, section 7, 1 March 2016, archived 3 February 2021, accessed 11 November 2022
  77. Official list of 57 cases on curia.europa.eu
  78. England and Wales High Court (Technology and Construction Court), AG Quidnet Hounslow LLP v London Borough of Hounslow [2012 EWHC 2639], paragraph 63, delivered 28 September 2012, accessed 26 July 2023
    • Case C‑538/07 Assitur Srl v Camera di Commercio, Industria, Artigianato e Agricoltura di Milano: addressed a referral from the Italian Tribunale Amministrativo Regionale per la Lombardia for advice on whether the list of criteria in the (old) procurement directive 92/50/EEC for excluding tenderers from a procurement process was to be treated as exhaustive. The ruling confirmed that in itself the list was not exhaustive, but parallel Italian legislation according to which "undertakings linked by a relationship of control or affiliated to one another" were not permitted to take part simultaneously in the same procurement procedure" was unlawful unless the businesses involved were given "an opportunity to demonstrate that [their] relationship did not influence their conduct in the course of that tendering procedure".[61]
    • Case C-406/08, Uniplex (UK) Ltd. v NHS Business Services Authority: reviewed the provision in the UK's Public Contracts Regulations obliging an unsuccessful tenderer to submit a challenge to the contracting authority's decision "promptly, and in any event within three months". The court concluded that this national provision was contrary to EU law because this form of wording prevented claimants from knowing the exact time limit which would apply.[62]
    • Case C-456/08 Commission v Ireland: Order 84A of the Rules of the Superior Courts in Ireland required procurement review actions to be brought "at the earliest opportunity and in any event within three months". The Court ruled that this wording left disappointed bidders "in uncertainty regarding their position when they consider making use of their Community law right to effective legal remedy against a decision of a contracting authority".[63] A new Order 84A was issued by the Irish Government on 8 September 2010 which is now consistent with EU law. This requires that actions be brought within 30 calendar days of when the claimant "knew or ought to have known" of the alleged infringement".[64]
    • Case C-599/10 SAG ELV Slovensko a.s. and others v Úrad pre verejné obstarávanie, referral from the Najvyšší súd Slovenskej republiky (Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic). In a case where a tender is imprecise or does not meet the technical requirements of the specification, there is no obligation to consult the tenderer or to ask for a clarification, and to do so would conflict with the principle of equal treatment of tenderers. There is a duty to request clarification of an abnormally low price and in this case the contracting authority "must set out clearly its request for clarification".[65]
    • Case C-182/11 Econord SpA v Comune di Cagno et al., 29 November 2012: control "similar to the control which [a local authority] exercises over its own departments" is maintained where the authority holds capital in a public entity and also plays "a role in its managing bodies".[66] Joined case with case C-183/11.
    • Case 94/12 Swm Contruzioni 2 SpA and Mannochi Luigino DI v. Provincia di Fermo ruled that Italian public works contracting rules which prevented a tenderer from relying on the capacities of more than one other business in each category covered by the business qualification system was inconsistent with the rules in the public procurement directive of 2004 allowing "entities" (plural), as a general rule, to be engaged in supporting the delivery of a contract or evidencing that the necessary capacity was available to the tendering organisation.[67]
    • Case C-552/13 Grupo Hospitalario Quirón SA v Departamento de Sanidad del Gobierno Vasco and Instituto de Religiosas Siervas de Jesús de la Caridad, confirmed that the 2004 Directive on Public Procurement did not permit a tender for medical services to state as a requirement that the proposed services must be provided within the boundaries of a particular locality, in this case the municipality of Bilbao.[68] A more general proximity requirement in the specification, more easily justifiable, was not criticised by the court.[69]
    • Case T-4/13 - Communicaid Group Ltd. v European Commission, another EU General Court case. Communicaid, a London-based language-training company challenged a procurement award decision made by the Commission and requested that the proposed contract award be suspended. The challenge was dismissed as Communicaid had failed to establish why urgent measures were required.[70]
    • Case C-413/17 – Roche Lietuva, related to the detailed formulation of technical specifications.[71]

    Social policy

    • Defrenne III C-149/77 [1978] ECR 1365: the scope of article 119 does not extend beyond equal pay, but the elimination of sex discrimination is a fundamental principle of Community law.[72]
    • Bundesdruckerei v. Stadt Dortmund, Case C-549/13: the City of Dortmund could not require tenderers for a document digitalisation contract to commit to paying German minimum wage levels to the workforce when they were intending to sub-contract the performance of the contract to a firm based in Poland outside the scope of the German minimum wage law.[73]

    State liability

    Taxation

    Value added tax

    • C-97/90 – Lennartz v Finanzamt München III: reference for a preliminary ruling on VAT paid on the purchase of capital goods.[74]
    • Axel Kittel & Recolta Recycling SPRL (cases C-439/04 and C-440/04, issued 6 July 2006) (known as Kittel), a missing trader fraud case. Under the Kittel ruling, "the right to claim input tax could be denied to anyone in the supply chain if the trader knew or should have known that their transactions were connected with VAT fraud".

    VAT groups

    Taxation barrister Philip Simpson refers to "the three main ECJ cases" on VAT groups as:

    A separate ruling is Case C-355/06, van der Steen (2007), a case which Simpson refers to as "not terribly clear".

    Fifty-seven pre-accession cases

    The following is the official list of fifty-seven cases that were translated in preparation for new member states who joined the European Union in 2004.[77] The list below contains fifty case names, because some cases were joined.

    References

    External links

  79. European Court of Justice, Universale-Bau AG, delivered 12 December 2012, accessed 8 May 2024, and quoted in Northern Ireland Court of Appeal, McLaughlin & Harvey Ltd v Department of Finance & Personnel [2011 NICA 60], paragraph 12, delivered 26 September 2011, accessed 8 May 2024
    • Case C-19/00 SIAC Construction Ltd. v The County Council of the County of Mayo - the court ruled on the interpretation of Article 29 of Council Directive 71/305/EEC of 26 July 1971: see SIAC Construction Ltd v The County Council of the County of Mayo#Court of Justice of the European Union
    • Case C-488/01 Wienstrom case: the court ruled that in a tender for energy supply, a criterion relating solely to the amount of electricity produced from renewable sources in excess of the expected consumption of the contracting authority (which was the subject of the contract) could not be considered to be linked to the subject-matter of the contract. To establish such a link to the subject-matter of the contract, the criterion relating to the amount of electricity produced from renewable sources should have concerned only the electricity effectively supplied to the contracting authority,[51] namely the Austrian federal government, in respect of its offices in the Land of Carinthia.[52]
    • Case C-211/02 Tideland Signal Ltd v European Commission: supply case where the Commission rejected a tender in circumstances where the Court of First Instance held that a clarification should have been sought instead of the tender being rejected, giving rise to a proposition on the circumstances where a clarification should be sought, subsequently referred to as the "Tideland principles".[53] [54]
    • Joined cases C-226/04 and C-228/04: whether companies bidding for public service contracts who have failed to pay tax or social security contributions on time but have subsequently regularised their position may be included within a procurement procedure, where national harmonising legislation makes provision for such companies not to be considered.[55]
    • Case C-331/04 ATI EAC and Others v ATCV Venezia SpA and others, a public service contracts case, allowed that specific weightings may be applied to the subheadings of an award criterion which are defined in advance, even though the weightings were not determined at the time when the contract notice was issued, so long as the criteria themselves are not amended, the weightings do not contain elements which, if they had been known at the time the tenders were prepared, could have affected their preparation, and they do not give rise to any discrimination between the tenderers.[56]
    • Case C-444/06 Commission v Spain: the Spanish public procurement rules did not adequately transpose the requirements of Council Directive 89/665/EEC on the coordination of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the application of review procedures to the award of public supply and public works contracts, as amended by Council Directive 92/50/EEC of 18 June 1992. However, in regard to some provisions in Spanish law intended to preserve the effects of a contract subject to an administrative declaration of invalidity and to maintain continuity of public service provision, the Court found that the commission had not demonstrated that the legislation undermined the requirements of the review directive.[57]
    • Case C‑450/06 Varec SA v Belgian State, 14 February 2008: a review body must ensure that confidentiality and business secrecy are respected. The review body itself is responsible for determining how this can best be done whilst also providing effective legal protection and respecting the rights of the parties to the dispute under review to conduct their defence.[58]
    • Case C-454/06 pressetext Nachrichtenagentur GmbH v Republic of Austria, on amendments to the Austrian government's contract with the Austria Press Agency (APA), and the question of material amendments to a contract.[59]
    • Case C-532/06 Emm G Lianakis AE and others v Dimos Alexandrouplis and others, states that the "selection" and "award" stages of a procurement process are distinct processes with different purposes and should not be fused into one. The case establishes that a supplier's "experience" may be used as a selection criterion but cannot function as a evaluation criterion at the "award" stage.[60]
    • Case T-258/06 Commission v Germany, a case in the General Court of the European Union: Germany unsuccessfully challenged the lawfulness of the Commission's Interpretative Communication on the Community law applicable to contract awards not or not fully subject to the provisions of the Public Procurement Directives, published in August 2006.[61]