Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:1997:330
Date: 1997-06-26
Language of the case: Italian
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Right of establishment;Provisions governing the Institutions;Freedom to provide services;Free movement of workers
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Italy

Summary of the Judgment 
1. Preliminary rulings — Reference to the Court — National court or tribunal within the mean­
ing of Article 177 of the Treaty — Definition — 'Consiglio di Stato' issuing an opinion in the 
context of an extraordinary petition 
(EC Treaty, Art. 177) 
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SUMMARY — JOINED CASES C-69/96 TO C-79/96 
2. Freedom of movement for persons — Freedom of establishment — Freedom to provide ser­
vices — Doctors — Recognition of diplomas and evidence of f ormai qualifications — Direc­
tive 93/16 — Practitioners of general mediane — Member States' obligation to make the 
practice of general medicine under their national social security system conditional on posses­
sion of a speafic diploma — Limit — Acquired rights of doctors not holding a speafic diploma 
but who exercised their right of establishment before 1 January 1995 
(Council Directives 75/362 and 93/16, Art. 36(2)) 
1. In order to determine whether a body 
making a reference to the Court of Justice 
is a court or tribunal within the meaning 
of Article 177 of the Treaty, account must 
be taken of a number of factors, such as 
whether the body is established by law, 
whether it is permanent, whether its juris­
diction is compulsory, whether procedure 
before it is inter partes, whether it applies 
rules of law and whether it is indepen­
dent. When it issues an opinion in the 
context of an extraordinary petition, the 
'Consiglio di Stato' constitutes a court or 
tribunal within the meaning of Article 
177 of the Treaty. 
2. Article 36(2) of Directive 93/16 to facili­
tate the free movement of doctors and the 
mutual recognition of their diplomas, cer­
tificates and other evidence of formal 
qualifications — which replaced Article 
7(2) of Directive 86/457 on specific train­
ing in general medical practice — is to be 
interpreted as meaning that a Member 
State may determine the acquired rights 
of practitioners of general medicine as 
regards situations prior to 1 January 1995, 
provided only that it recognizes the right 
of doctors established in practice there, 
under Directive 75/362 concerning the 
mutual recognition of diplomas, certifi­
cates and other evidence of formal quali­
fications in medicine, including measures 
to facilitate the effective exercise of the 
right of establishment and freedom to 
provide services, before 1 January 1995 to 
practice general medicine under its 
national social security scheme, even if 
they have no specific training in general 
medical practice and have not established 
a service relationship with that State's 
social security scheme. 
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