Judgment of the Court of 8 December 1981. - Procureur général près la Cour d'Appel de Pau and others v José Arbelaiz-Emazabel. - Reference for a preliminary ruling: Cour de cassation - France. - Fisheries - Rights of non-member countries. - Case 181/80.
European Court reports 1981 Page 02961
Spanish special edition Page 00781
Summary
Parties
Subject of the case
Grounds
Decision on costs
Operative part
Keywords
1 . INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS - AGREEMENTS ENTERED INTO BY MEMBER STATES - 1964 LONDON FISHERIES CONVENTION - POWERS OF THE COMMUNITY REGARDING CONSERVATION OF THE RESOURCES OF THE SEA - ENFORCEABILITY AGAINST OTHER PARTIES TO THE CONVENTION
( LONDON FISHERIES CONVENTION OF 9 MARCH 1964 , ARTS 5 AND 10 )
2 . FISHERIES - CONSERVATION OF THE RESOURCES OF THE SEA - COMMUNITY PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO SPANISH VESSELS - LICENSING SYSTEM - DISCRIMINATION AGAINST SPANISH FISHERMEN - NONE
( COUNCIL REGULATIONS NO 373/77 AND NO 746/77 )
3 . FISHERIES - CONSERVATION OF THE RESOURCES OF THE SEA - COMMUNITY PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO SPANISH VESSELS - INTERIM REGIME FALLING WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF RELATIONS BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY AND SPAIN - SUPERSEDES PRIOR INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS BETWEEN CERTAIN MEMBER STATES AND SPAIN - EFFECTS
( COUNCIL REGULATIONS NO 373/77 , NO 746/77 AND NO 2160/77 ; AGREEMENT BETWEEN EEC AND SPAIN OF 15 APRIL 1980 )
Summary
1 . IT IS CLEAR FROM ARTICLES 5 AND 10 OF THE LONDON FISHERIES CONVENTION OF 9 MARCH 1964 THAT THE PARTIES THERETO WERE AWARE OF THE EXISTENCE OF MUTUAL COMMITMENTS WITH REGARD TO FISHERIES ASSUMED WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE COMMUNITY BY ITS MEMBER STATES AND THAT THEY HAD APPROVED THE PRINCIPLE OF CONSERVATION MEASURES AND RECOGNIZED THE NEED TO ADOPT APPROPRIATE RULES TO ENFORCE THEM IN THE ZONE REFERRED TO IN THE CONVENTION . CONSEQUENTLY THE PARTIES MUST HAVE KNOWN THAT AS FROM A PARTICULAR TIME THE POWER TO ADOPT CONSERVATION MEASURES UNDER ARTICLE 5 OF THE CONVENTION WOULD , AS FAR AS THE MEMBER STATES OF THE COMMUNITY WERE CONCERNED , BE EXERCISED BY THE COMMUNITY INSTITUTIONS .
2 . A LICENSING SYSTEM OF THE KIND INTRODUCED WITH REGARD TO SPANISH FISHERMEN BY REGULATION NO 746/77 IS MERELY A NECESSARY MEANS OF ENSURING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE SYSTEM OF CATCH QUOTAS INTRODUCED BY THE COMMUNITY BY REGULATION NO 373/77 , IT BEING CLEAR THAT THE CATCHES TAKEN BY FISHING VESSELS OF NON-MEMBER COUNTRIES CANNOT BE CHECKED IN THE NEIGHBOURING COASTAL PORTS SINCE THE VESSELS NORMALLY RETURN TO THEIR PORTS OF ORIGIN TO LAND THEIR CATCHES . THEREFORE THE INTRODUCTION OF SUCH A LICENSING SYSTEM WAS NOT PER SE LIKELY TO ACCORD LESS FAVOURABLE TREATMENT TO SPANISH FISHERMEN THAN TO THE FISHERMEN OF COMMUNITY COUNTRIES , TO WHOM THE CATCH QUOTAS ALSO APPLIED .
3 . THE INTERIM REGIME WHICH THE COMMUNITY SET UP UNDER ITS OWN RULES FALLS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE RELATIONS ESTABLISHED BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY AND SPAIN IN ORDER TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEMS INHERENT IN CONSERVATION MEASURES AND THE EXTENSION OF