Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:1998:390
Date: 1998-07-16
Language of the case: French
Court formation: Sixth Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Environment
Concepts: Defences
Procedure: Action for failure to fulfil obligations - successful
Origin: Luxembourg

Summary of the J u d g m e n t 
Member States — Obligations — Implementation of directives — Failure to fulfil obligations — 
Justification — Not permissible 
(EC Treaty, Art. 169) 
A Member State cannot rely on provisions, 
practices or situations of its own internal 
legal order in order to justify its failure to 
respect the obligations and time-limits laid 
down by a directive. 
I - 4903