Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2009:275
Date: 2009-04-30
Language of the case: Italian
Court formation: Fourth Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Provisions governing the Institutions
Concepts: Parliament
Procedure: Action for annulment - successful
Origin: Italy

Summary of the Judgment 1. European Parliament – Members – Meaning (Act concerning the election of the representatives of the Assembly by direct universal suffrage, Art. 6) 2. European Parliament – Verification of the credentials of Members – Limits (Act concerning the election of the representatives of the Assembly by direct universal suffrage, Art. 12) 1. Article 6 of the Act of 1976 concerning the election of the representatives of the Assembly by direct universal suffrage refers expressly to ‘Members of the Parliament’ and concerns the exercise of the mandate of a Member of the European Parliament. That article mentions the power to vote of those members, a power which, by its nature, cannot be associated with the status of a candidate declared officially elected on the post-electoral list. In view of its clear wording, that article does not apply to measures which have as their object the withdrawal of an elected candidate. The European Parliament cannot be recognised as having a general power to assess the lawfulness of the Member States’ electoral procedures in the light of all the principles allegedly underlying Article 6 of the 1976 Act. Such an interpretation of Article 6 would fail to have regard to the decision taken by those responsible for its wording by transforming a provision relating to the exercise of the mandate, notwithstanding the fact that the scope of the provision is specifically limited to that exercise, into a rule of jurisdiction governing the electoral procedure, since, in accordance with Article 8 of the 1976 Act, that field is in principle governed by national provisions. (see paras 41-42, 44-45) 2. The wording of Article 12 of the Act of 1976 concerning the election of the representatives of the Assembly by direct universal suffrage shows that the European Parliament’s power to verify the credentials of its members is subject, pursuant to the first sentence of that article, to two significant restrictions which are set out in the second sentence thereof. The first part of the second sentence of Article 12 provides that the Parliament ‘shall take note of the results declared officially by the Member States’. In addition, the Parliament’s specific power to settle disputes brought before it, which is set out in the second part of the second sentence of that article, is also limited ratione materiae only to disputes ‘which may arise out of the provisions of [the 1976 Act] other than those arising out of the national provisions to which the act refers’. First, it is clear from the wording itself of Article 12 of the 1976 Act that that article does not confer on the Parliament the power to settle disputes which arise out of Community law as a whole. According to the clear wording of that article, it applies only to ‘disputes which … arise out of the provisions of this act’. The Parliament does not have a general power to assess the compliance of Member States’ electoral procedures and their application to the present case with regard to Community law. The Parliament’s powers are limited, in the context of the verification of the credentials of its Members, to the rights and powers that are clearly set out in the relevant provisions of the 1976 Act. An interpretation of Article 12 of that act which would establish for the benefit of the Parliament a general power to review the official declaration made by the Member States’ authorities would not only be contrary to the wording of that article, but would also be incompatible with the principle embodied in Articles 5 EC and 7 EC that the powers of the Community and its institutions are limited to those specifically conferred on it. Second, the use of the expression ‘take note’ in the context of the 1976 Act must be interpreted as indicating the Parliament’s complete lack of discretion in the matter. The respective powers of the Parliament and of the national authorities when they verify the credentials of Members of the Parliament are clearly divided between the Community institutions and the national authorities. Under Article 12 of the 1976 Act, the Parliament has the power to rule only in relation to disputes which may arise out of the provisions of that act other than those arising out of the national provisions to which the act refers, whilst it is the responsibility of the national authorities to declare the results drawn up pursuant to national provisions that are in accordance with Community law. It is apparent from this that, by virtue of Article 12 of the 1976 Act, the Parliament is required to take note of the declaration made by the National Electoral Office and does not have the power to depart from it on account of the alleged irregularities affecting that national measure. (see paras 52-55, 66-67, 74-75)