ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
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1. Preliminary rulings ° Jurisdiction of the Court ° Limits ° General or hypothetical questions ° Determination by the Court of its own jurisdiction

(EEC Treaty, Art. 177)

2. Preliminary rulings ° Reference to the Court ° Stage of the proceedings at which reference should be made

(EEC Treaty, Art. 177)

3. Preliminary rulings ° Jurisdiction of the Court ° Hypothetical question submitted in circumstances in which a useful answer is precluded ° Lack of jurisdiction of the Court

(EEC Treaty, Art. 177)

Summary

1. In the framework of the procedure for cooperation between the Court of Justice and the national courts provided for by Article 177 of the Treaty, the national court, which alone has direct knowledge of the facts of the case, is in the best position to assess having regard to the particular features of the case, whether a preliminary ruling is necessary to enable it to give judgment. Consequently, where the questions submitted by the national court concern the interpretation of a provision of Community law, the Court is, in principle, bound to give a ruling.

Nevertheless, it is a matter for the Court of Justice, in order to determine whether it has jurisdiction, to examine the conditions in which the case has been referred to it. The spirit of cooperation which must prevail in the preliminary ruling procedure requires the national court to have regard to the function entrusted to the Court of Justice, which is to assist in the administration of justice in the Member States and not to deliver advisory opinions on general or hypothetical questions.

2. The need to provide an interpretation of Community law which will be of use to the national court makes it essential to define the legal context in which the interpretation requested should be placed. Accordingly, it may be convenient, in certain circumstances, for the facts of the case to be established and for questions of purely national law to be settled at the time the reference is made to the Court of Justice, so as to enable the latter to take cognizance of all the features of fact and of law which may be relevant to the interpretation of Community law which it is called upon to give.

3. The Court would be exceeding the limits of the function entrusted to it if it decided to give a ruling on a hypothetical problem without having before it the matters of fact or law necessary to give a useful answer to the questions submitted to it.
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Transport ° Road transport ° Social provisions ° Derogations ° Vehicles used in connection with the gas service

(Council Regulations Nos 3820/85, Art. 4(6) and 3821/85, Art. 3(1))

Summary

The derogation from the requirement to install and use a tachograph in vehicles registered in a Member State which are used for the carriage of passengers or goods by road, laid down for vehicles used in connection with the gas service under Article 3(1) of Regulation No 3821/85 on recording equipment in road transport in conjunction with Article 4(6) of Regulation No 3820/85 on the harmonization of certain social legislation relating to road transport, applies solely to vehicles used, at the relevant time, for carriage wholly and exclusively in connection with the production, transport or distribution of gas, or the maintenance of the necessary installations for that purpose. However, that derogation does not apply to vehicles wholly or partly used at the relevant time in connection with the carriage of domestic gas appliances.
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Agriculture ° Common organization of the market ° Oils and fats ° Subsidy for oilseeds ° Failure to comply with the obligation to lodge the application for the ID part of the Community subsidy certificate on the very day when the seeds are placed under control ° Total loss of entitlement to the subsidy ° Principle of proportionality ° Infringement ° None

(Council Regulation No 2114/71; Commission Regulation No 1204/72)

Summary

The grant of the subsidy for oil seeds as laid down by Regulation No 2114/71 on the subsidy for oil seeds is dependent, in accordance with the detailed implementing rules laid down by Regulation No 1204/72, on the application for the ID part of the Community aid certificate referred to in Article 5(1)(b) of the latter regulation being lodged on the same day as that on which the Member State concerned takes over control of the seeds in the oil mill, hence before the seeds are processed to produce oil. Since the amount of the aid is constantly subject to fluctuations, the sole means of preventing traders from making unjustified profits consists in requiring the application for the ID part to be lodged on the very day on which the seeds are placed under control. This is essential for the proper functioning of the subsidy system and it is not contrary to the principle of proportionality that a trader who does not comply with that obligation should suffer complete loss of entitlement to the subsidy.
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1. Agriculture ° Common agricultural policy ° Reform of structures ° Improving the efficiency of structures ° Regulation No 797/85 ° Exclusion of capital companies from the definition of farmer practising farming as his main occupation, by reason of their legal form ° Not permissible

(Council Regulation No 797/85, Art. 2(5))

2. Agriculture ° Common agricultural policy ° Reform of structures ° Improving the efficiency of structures ° Regulation No 797/85 ° Scope ° National aid measure consisting in a reduced rate of registration duty payable on acquisitions of agricultural land by farmers ° Excluded

(Council Regulation No 797/85, Arts 4(1) and 8(5))

Summary

1. Article 2(5) of Regulation No 797/85 on improving the efficiency of agricultural structures, in so far as it assigns to the Member States the task of defining what is meant by the expression "farmer practising farming as his main occupation", does not permit them to exclude capital companies from that definition solely by reason of their legal form.

2. It follows from Articles 4(1) and 8(5) of Regulation No 797/85 on improving the efficiency of agricultural structures that a national measure of aid for the purchase of land which consists in a reduced rate of registration duty payable on acquisitions of agricultural land by farmers does not fall within the scope of that regulation and, subject to compliance with Articles 92 to 94 of the Treaty, is thus governed solely by national law.
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Social policy ° Approximation of laws ° Protection of employees in the event of insolvency of the employer ° Directive 80/987 ° Relied upon by employees affected by events prior to the expiry of the period prescribed for implementation ° Excluded

(Council Directive 80/987)

Summary

Employees may not rely, in proceedings before the national court, on the provisions of Directive 80/987 relating to the protection of employees in the event of the insolvency of the employer in order to obtain payment, from a guarantee fund established in pursuance of a national law, of the severance grant provided for by that law, by setting aside the temporal condition prescribed thereby, namely that the benefits provided by the fund are to be granted only if the termination of the employment relationship and the insolvency or enforcement procedure took place after the entry into force of that law since, in so far as concerns them, those events occurred before the expiry of the period prescribed for the implementation of the directive.

It is only where a Member State has not correctly implemented a directive upon the expiry of the period prescribed for its implementation that individuals may, upon certain conditions, assert before the national courts rights which they derive directly from the provisions of that directive.
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Social policy ° Male and female workers ° Equal pay ° Pay ° Definition ° Payment due from the last employer, introduced by a collective agreement in favour of workers made redundant above a certain age and supplementing unemployment benefit ° Included ° Payment to male workers only ° Not permissible

(EEC Treaty, Art. 119)

Summary

A payment due from the last employer, introduced by a collective agreement in favour of workers made redundant above a certain age provided that they are in receipt of unemployment benefit, in order to supplement the latter benefit, constitutes pay within the meaning of Article 119 of the Treaty, provided that it is payable by reason of the earlier employment relationship. Consequently, it is not permissible, by virtue of Article 119 of the Treaty, for that payment to be made to male workers only.
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1. Actions against a Member State for failure to fulfil obligations ° Judgment of the Court of Justice finding a failure to fulfil obligations ° Period within which the judgment must be complied with

(EEC Treaty, Art. 171)

2. Actions against Member States for failure to fulfil obligations ° Judgment of the Court of Justice finding a failure to fulfil obligations ° Effects ° Obligations incumbent on the authorities of the Member State in default ° Obligation to ensure compliance with judgment ° Implications ° Adoption of measures designed to prolong that failure ° Not permissible

(EEC Treaty, Arts 5 and 171)

Summary

1. The immediate and uniform application of Community law requires that the process of compliance with a judgment must be initiated immediately and must be completed as soon as possible.

2. A finding by the Court that a Member State has failed to fulfil its obligations under Community law entails, first, an automatic prohibition on the application, by both the judicial and administrative authorities of that Member State, of the national legislation which is incompatible with Community law and, secondly, an obligation on the part of those authorities to take all appropriate measures to facilitate the full application of Community law.

A Member State which, instead of taking the necessary measures to comply with a judgment of the Court of Justice finding that it had failed to fulfil its obligations, actually adopts specific measures to extend the legislation constituting the failure to fulfil obligations, commits a serious and intolerable breach of the duty of Member States under the second paragraph of Article 5 of the Treaty to abstain from any measure which could jeopardize the attainment of the objectives of the Treaty and thereby goes to the very basis of the Community legal order.
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Acts of the institutions ° Date of application ° Principle of non-retroactivity ° Exceptions ° Conditions ° Special statement of reasons ° Absence ° Unlawfulness

(EEC Treaty, Art. 190; Commission Regulation No 744/87, second para. of Art. 3)

Summary

Although in general the principle of legal certainty precludes a Community measure from taking effect before its publication, it may exceptionally be otherwise where the purpose to be achieved so demands and where the legitimate expectation of those concerned is duly protected. However, measures having such an effect must include in the statement of the reasons on which they are based, in a clear and unequivocal fashion, particulars which justify the desired retroactive effect.

Regulation No 744/87, amending Regulation No 805/86 introducing a charge on denatured skimmed-milk powder coming from Spain and derogating from Regulation No 1378/86 as regards the accession compensatory amounts in trade with Spain, does not state the reasons why the new detailed rules on the collection of the aforementioned charge which it enacts must apply in respect of traders who exported non-skimmed milk in the month prior to its adoption. It follows that Regulation No 744/87 does not meet the requirement of stating reasons laid down by Article 190 of the Treaty and that the second paragraph of Article 3 thereof is invalid in so far as it declares that the regulation is applicable with effect from 12 February 1987.
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1. Actions for annulment ° Actionable measures ° Measures of the Parliament intended to have legal effects outside its internal sphere ° Individual measures applying the rules on a transitional end-of-service allowance for Members of the European Parliament ° Admissibility

(EEC Treaty, Art. 173)

2. Parliament ° Transitional end-of-service allowance for Members of the European Parliament ° End of the term of office ° Meaning

Summary

1. Since the European Economic Community is based on the rule of law, neither its Member States nor its institutions can avoid a review of the question whether the measures adopted by them are in conformity with the basic constitutional charter, the Treaty, which established a complete system of legal remedies and procedures designed to permit the Court of Justice to review the legality of measures adopted by the institutions. Of measures adopted by Parliament, only those which relate exclusively to the internal organization of its work or those which have no legal effects or have legal effects only within the Parliament as regards the organization of its work and are subject to review procedures laid down in its Rules of Procedure cannot be challenged in an action for annulment.

In the light of those criteria, the rules on the transitional end-of-service allowance for Members of Parliament and individual measures applying those rules have legal effects going beyond the internal organization of the work of that institution in so far as they affect the financial situation of Members of Parliament when they cease to serve in that capacity.

An action for annulment brought against such an implementing measure by the Member of Parliament concerned is therefore admissible.

2. The expression "end of the term of office" in the rules on the transitional end-of-service allowance for Members of the European Parliament is to be interpreted ° having regard to the various language versions of those rules, their context and their purpose ° as having a neutral meaning and covering all cases in which a Member of Parliament ceases to serve in that capacity.

Since the measure in question has financial implications, Parliament is not entitled as its originator to restrict, by a subsequent interpretation described as authentic, its scope to the detriment of potential beneficiaries at the risk of infringing the principle of legal certainty.
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Social policy ° European Social Fund ° Contribution to the financing of vocational training operations ° Decision to reduce assistance initially granted ° Opportunity for the Member State concerned to comment before the adoption of a decision ° Essential procedural requirement ° Infringement ° Unlawful

(Council Regulation No 2950/83, Art. 6(1))

Summary

In the procedure for granting financial assistance from the European Social Fund for vocational training and guidance operations carried out in a Member State, the latter is the Fund' s sole interlocutor and may incur liability in so far as it certifies the accuracy of the facts and accounts contained in the payment claims submitted by the recipients and may even be required to guarantee the successful completion of the operations financed. In view of the central role of, and the importance of the responsibilities assumed by, that Member State regarding the presentation and monitoring of financing in respect of training operations, the opportunity, provided for by Article 6(1) of Regulation No 2950/83, to comment before the adoption of a final decision reducing the financial assistance initially granted constitutes an essential procedural requirement the infringement of which renders that decision void.
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Free movement of goods ° Quantitative restrictions ° Measures having equivalent effect ° Rules prohibiting advertisements making use of comparisons of prices charged on the same product at different times ° Application to an advertising campaign relating to products imported from another Member State ° Not permissible ° Justification ° Protection of consumers ° Fair trading ° None

(EEC Treaty, Art. 30)

Summary

Article 30 of the Treaty is to be interpreted as precluding the application of a rule of law of a Member State which prohibits an undertaking established in that State, carrying on mail order sales by catalogue or sales brochure of goods imported from another Member State, from using advertisements relating to prices in which the new price is displayed so as to catch the eye and reference is made to a higher price shown in a previous catalogue or brochure.

Such a prohibition, by compelling a trader either to adopt advertising or sales promotion schemes which differ from one Member State to another or to discontinue a scheme which he considers to be particularly effective, may constitute an obstacle to imports even if it applies to domestic products and imported products without distinction. In so far as the prohibition affects all eye-catching advertisements making use of price comparisons, whether they are true or false, it cannot be justified by urgent requirements relating either to consumer protection, since the objective pursued can be ensured by measures which are less restrictive of intra-Community trade, or to the protection of fair trading, since correct price comparisons cannot in any way distort the conditions of competition.
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Freedom of movement for persons ° Freedom of establishment ° Tax legislation ° Right to repayment supplement when tax paid but not due is refunded ° Refund only available to companies resident for tax purposes in national territory ° Not permissible ° Tax not due on the ground that residence for tax purposes is abroad ° Irrelevant

(EEC Treaty, Arts 52 and 58)

Summary

Articles 52 and 58 of the Treaty prevent the legislation of a Member State from granting repayment supplement on overpaid tax to companies which are resident for tax purposes in that State whilst refusing the supplement to companies resident for tax purposes in another Member State. The fact that the latter would not have been exempt from tax if they had been resident in that State is of no relevance in that regard.

Although it applies independently of a company' s seat and therefore of the factor connecting it with the legal system of a particular State, the use of the criterion of fiscal residence within national territory for the purpose of granting repayment supplement on overpaid tax is liable to work more particularly to the disadvantage of companies having their seat in other Member States since it is most often those companies which are resident for tax purposes outside the territory of the Member State in question.
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1. Actions for annulment ° Actionable measures ° Acts intended to have legal effects ° Commission communication presented as designed to specify the manner of application of a directive but creating new obligations for the Member States

(EEC Treaty, Art. 173; Commission Directive 80/723, Art. 5(2); Commission communication of 18 October 1991)

2. Community law ° Principles ° Legal certainty ° Community legislation ° Requirement for clarity and foreseeability ° Express indication of the legal basis

Summary

1. An action for annulment is available in the case of all measures adopted by the institutions, whatever their nature or form, which are intended to have legal effects. This applies to a Commission communication which sets out to specify the manner of application of Article 5(2) of Directive 80/723 on the transparency of financial relations between Member States and public undertakings, was published in the C Series of the Official Journal and was notified to each Member State.

That communication, which requires Member States annually to report to the Commission, on a general, systematic basis, data relating to the financial relations of a particular category of undertaking achieving a specified turnover, constitutes an act intended to have legal effects of its own distinct from those of Article 5(2) of the directive and adds new obligations to those provided for by that provision.

2. The principle of legal certainty, which is part of the Community legal order, requires Community legislation to be clear and its application to be foreseeable for all interested parties. As a result of that requirement, any act intended to have legal effects must derive its binding force from a provision of Community law which prescribes the legal form to be taken by that act and which must be expressly indicated therein as its legal basis, failing which the act in question will be null and void.
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1. State aid ° Concept ° Exclusion of small businesses from a national system of protection of workers against unfair dismissal ° Advantage granted without transferring State resources ° Excluded

(EEC Treaty, Art. 92(1))

2. Social policy ° Men and women ° Access to employment and working conditions ° Equal treatment ° National rules which exclude undertakings with a limited number of staff from the system of protection against unfair dismissal ° Number of staff calculated by excluding certain employees on part-time working hours ° Permissibility in the absence of evidence that women are greatly in the majority in the excluded undertakings and in view of the economic objectives pursued

(Council Directive 76/207, Arts 2(1) and 5(1))

Summary

1. The exclusion of small businesses from a national system of protection of workers against unfair dismissal, with the effect that they are not obliged to pay compensation in the event of socially unjustified dismissals or to bear the legal expenses incurred in proceedings concerning the dismissal of workers, does not constitute aid within the meaning of Article 92(1) of the Treaty.

Such a measure does not entail any direct or indirect transfer of State resources to those businesses but derives solely from the legislature' s intention to provide a specific legislative framework for working relationships between employers and employees in small businesses and to avoid imposing on those businesses financial constraints which might hinder their development.

2. The principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards the conditions of dismissal as it emerges from Articles 2(1) and 5(1) of Directive 76/207 does not preclude the application of a national provision which does not take into account employees whose working hours are not more than 10 hours per week or 45 hours per month when determining whether or not an undertaking must apply the system of protection against unfair dismissal, where it is not established that undertakings which are not subject to that system employ a considerably greater number of women than men. Even if that were the case, such a measure might be justified by objective reasons not related to the sex of the employees in so far as it is intended to alleviate the constraints weighing on small businesses.