Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:1999:414
Date: 1999-09-14
Language of the case: Greek
Court formation: Fifth Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Consumer protection;Approximation of laws
Concepts: Defences
Procedure: Action for failure to fulfil obligations - successful
Origin: Greece

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 in order to justify a 
failure to comply with the obligations and 
time-limits laid down in a directive. 
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