Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:1999:496
Date: 1999-10-12
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Third Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Right of establishment;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property;Approximation of laws;Freedom to provide services
Concepts: Defences
Procedure: Action for failure to fulfil obligations - successful
Origin: Ireland

Summary of the Judgment 
Member States — Obligations — Implementation of directives — Failure to fulfil 
obligations — Justification — Not permissible 
(EC Treaty, Art. 169 (now Art. 226 EC)) 
A Member State may not plead provisions, 
practices or circumstances existing in its 
internal legal system as justification for 
failure to comply with the obligations and 
time-limits laid down in a directive. 
I - 6973