Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2004:824
Date: 2004-12-16
Language of the case: German
Court formation: Fourth Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Social Policy
Concepts: Defences
Procedure: Action for failure to fulfil obligations - successful;Action for failure to fulfil obligations - unfounded
Origin: Austria

Summary of the Judgment Member States – Obligations – Implementation of directives – Failure to fulfil obligations – National system pleaded as justification – Not permissible (Art. 226 EC) A Member State may not plead situations in its internal legal order, including those resulting from its federal organisation, in order to justify failure to comply with the obligations and time-limits laid down in a directive. In that regard, a Federal State cannot argue that its constitutional law precludes it from adopting measures transposing a directive in the place of a federated State and that only censure by the Court confers the power on the Federal State to undertake the transposition. Though each Member State may freely allocate areas of internal legal competence as it sees fit, the fact remains that it alone is responsible to the Community under Article 226 EC for compliance with obligations arising under Community law. (see paras 12-13)