# C_2004118EN.01001602.xml

| 30.4.2004 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 118/16 |
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30.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 118/16

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JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(Fifth Chamber)

of 29 April 2004

in Case C-476/01 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Amtsgericht Frankenthal): Felix Kapper (1)

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(Directive 91/439/EEC - Mutual recognition of driving licences - Residence requirement - Article 8(4) - Effects of withdrawal or cancellation of a previous driving licence - Recognition of a new driving licence issued by another Member State)

(2004/C 118/29)

Language of the case: German

In Case C-476/01: reference to the Court under Article 234 EC from the Amtsgericht (District Court) Frankenthal (Germany) for a preliminary ruling in the criminal proceedings pending before that court against Felix Kapper - on the interpretation of Article 1(2) of Council Directive 91/439/EEC of 29 July 1991 on driving licences (OJ 1991 L 237, p. 1), as amended by Council Directive 97/26/EC of 2 June 1997 (OJ 1997 L 150, p. 41) - the Court (Fifth Chamber), composed of: C.W.A. Timmermans, acting for the President of the Fifth Chamber, A. Rosas (Rapporteur) and S. von Bahr, Judges; P. Léger, Advocate General; H. von Holstein, Deputy Registrar, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on 29 April 2004, in which it has ruled:

| 1. | The provisions of Articles 1(2), 7(1)(b) and 9 of Council Directive 91/439/EEC of 29 July 1991 on driving licences, as amended by Council Directive 97/26/EC of 2 June 1997, taken together, must be interpreted as meaning that they preclude a Member State from refusing to recognise a driving licence issued by another Member State on the ground that, according to the information available to the first Member State, the holder of the licence had, on the date on which it was issued, taken up normal residence in that Member State and not in the Member State in which the licence was issued. |
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1.

The provisions of Articles 1(2), 7(1)(b) and 9 of Council Directive 91/439/EEC of 29 July 1991 on driving licences, as amended by Council Directive 97/26/EC of 2 June 1997, taken together, must be interpreted as meaning that they preclude a Member State from refusing to recognise a driving licence issued by another Member State on the ground that, according to the information available to the first Member State, the holder of the licence had, on the date on which it was issued, taken up normal residence in that Member State and not in the Member State in which the licence was issued.

| 2. | The provisions of Articles 1(2) and 8(4) of Directive 91/439, taken together, must be interpreted as meaning that they preclude a Member State from refusing to recognise the validity of a driving licence issued by another Member State on the ground that its holder has, in the first Member State, been subject to a measure withdrawing or cancelling the driving licence issued by that Member State, where a temporary ban on obtaining a new licence in that State, with which that measure is coupled, has expired before the date of issue of the driving licence issued by the other Member State. |
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2.

The provisions of Articles 1(2) and 8(4) of Directive 91/439, taken together, must be interpreted as meaning that they preclude a Member State from refusing to recognise the validity of a driving licence issued by another Member State on the ground that its holder has, in the first Member State, been subject to a measure withdrawing or cancelling the driving licence issued by that Member State, where a temporary ban on obtaining a new licence in that State, with which that measure is coupled, has expired before the date of issue of the driving licence issued by the other Member State.

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(1)  OJ C 56 of 2.3.2002

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