# C_2015205EN.01000201.xml

| 22.6.2015 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 205/2 |
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22.6.2015

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 205/2

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Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 23 April 2015 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Verwaltungsgericht Sigmaringen — Germany) — Sevda Aykul v Land Baden-Württemberg

(Case C-260/13) (1)

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((Reference for a preliminary ruling - Directive 2006/126/EC - Mutual recognition of driving licences - Refusal of a Member State to recognise, in the case of a person having driven under the influence of narcotic substances, the validity of a driving licence issued by another Member State))

(2015/C 205/02)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Referring court

Verwaltungsgericht Sigmaringen

Parties to the main proceedings

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Sevda Aykul

Applicant:

Defendant: Land Baden-Württemberg

Defendant:

Operative part of the judgment

Operative part of the judgment

| 1. | Article 2(1) and the second subparagraph of Article 11(4) of Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on driving licences must be interpreted as meaning that a Member State in whose territory the holder of a driving licence issued by another Member State is staying temporarily is not precluded from refusing to recognise the validity of that driving licence on account of unlawful conduct on the part of its holder in the territory of the first Member State after that driving licence has been issued that results, under the national law of the first Member State, in unfitness to drive motor vehicles. |
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1.

Article 2(1) and the second subparagraph of Article 11(4) of Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on driving licences must be interpreted as meaning that a Member State in whose territory the holder of a driving licence issued by another Member State is staying temporarily is not precluded from refusing to recognise the validity of that driving licence on account of unlawful conduct on the part of its holder in the territory of the first Member State after that driving licence has been issued that results, under the national law of the first Member State, in unfitness to drive motor vehicles.

| 2. | A Member State which refuses to recognise the validity of a driving licence in a situation such as that at issue in the main proceedings is competent to lay down the conditions with which the holder of a driving licence must comply in order to recover the right to drive in that Member State’s territory. It is for the referring court to examine whether, in applying its own rules, the Member State in question is not in fact refusing indefinitely to recognise a driving licence issued by another Member State. In that context, it is for the referring court to ascertain whether the conditions laid down by the legislation of the first Member State, in accordance with the principle of proportionality, do not exceed the limits of what is appropriate and necessary in order to attain the objective of Directive 2006/126, which is to improve road safety. |
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2.

A Member State which refuses to recognise the validity of a driving licence in a situation such as that at issue in the main proceedings is competent to lay down the conditions with which the holder of a driving licence must comply in order to recover the right to drive in that Member State’s territory. It is for the referring court to examine whether, in applying its own rules, the Member State in question is not in fact refusing indefinitely to recognise a driving licence issued by another Member State. In that context, it is for the referring court to ascertain whether the conditions laid down by the legislation of the first Member State, in accordance with the principle of proportionality, do not exceed the limits of what is appropriate and necessary in order to attain the objective of Directive 2006/126, which is to improve road safety.

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(1)  OJ C 189, 29.6.2013.

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