CELEX: C2003/275/31
Language: en
Date: 2003-11-15 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 11 September 2003 in Case C-77/02 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Verwaltungsgericht Sigmaringen): Erika Steinicke v Bundesanstalt für Arbeit (Social policy — Equal treatment for men and women — Scheme of part-time work for older employees — Directive 76/207/EEC — Indirect discrimination — Objective justification)

C 275/18                EN                           Official Journal of the European Union                                               15.11.2003
                 JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                                        JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                                                                                                       (Sixth Chamber)
                          (First Chamber)
                                                                                                   of 11 September 2003
                      of 25 September 2003                                   in Case C-77/02 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from
                                                                             the Verwaltungsgericht Sigmaringen): Erika Steinicke v
                                                                                                Bundesanstalt für Arbeit (1)
in Case C-74/02: Commission of the European Communi-
            ties v Federal Republic of Germany (1)                           (Social policy — Equal treatment for men and women —
                                                                             Scheme of part-time work for older employees — Directive
                                                                             76/207/EEC — Indirect discrimination — Objective justifi-
(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Directive                                                 cation)
1999/94/EC — Failure to implement within the prescribed
                               period)
                                                                                                       (2003/C 275/31)
                                                                                                (Language of the case: German)
                         (2003/C 275/30)
                                                                             (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
                   (Language of the case: German)                                               in the European Court Reports)
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published       In Case C-77/02: Reference to the Court under Article 234 EC
                   in the European Court Reports)                            by the Verwaltungsgericht Sigmaringen (Germany) for a
                                                                             preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that
                                                                             court between Erika Steinicke and Bundesanstalt für Arbeit, on
                                                                             the interpretation of Article 141 EC and of Council Directives
                                                                             75/117/EEC of 10 February 1975 on the approximation of
In Case C-74/02, Commission of the European Communities                      the laws of the Member States relating to the application of
(Agent: G. zur Hausen) v Federal Republic of Germany (Agents:                the principles of equal pay for men and women (OJ 1975
W.-D. Plessing and M. Lumma): Application for a declaration                  L 45, p. 19), 76/207/EEC of 9 February 1976 on the
that, by failing to adopt within the prescribed period the                   implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men
measures necessary to comply with Directive 1999/94/EC of                    and women as regards access to employment, vocational
the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December                    training and promotion and working conditions (OJ 1975
1999 relating to the availability of consumer information on                 L 39, p. 40) and 97/81/EC of 15 December 1997 concerning
fuel economy and CO2 emissions in respect of the marketing                   the Framework Agreement on part-time work concluded by
of new passenger cars (OJ 2000 L 12, p. 16), the Federal                     UNICE, CEEP and the ETUC (OJ 1998 L 14, p. 9), the Court
Republic of Germany has failed to fulfil its obligations                     (Sixth Chamber), composed of: J.-P. Puissochet, President of
under that directive, the Court (First Chamber), composed of:                the Chamber, R. Schintgen, V. Skouris, F. Macken (Rapporteur)
M. Wathelet (Rapporteur), President of the Chamber, P. Jann                  and J.N. Cunha Rodrigues, Judges; A. Tizzano, Advocate
and A. Rosas, Judges; J. Mischo, Advocate General; R. Grass,                 General; R. Grass, Registrar, has given a judgment on 11 Sep-
Registrar, has given a judgment on 25 September 2003, in                     tember 2003, in which it has ruled:
which it:
                                                                             Articles 2(1) and 5(1) of Council Directive 76/207/EEC of
                                                                             9 February 1976 on the implementation of the principle of equal
1.   Declares that, by failing to adopt within the prescribed period         treatment for men and women as regards access to employment,
     the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to        vocational training and promotion, and working conditions must be
     comply with Directive 1999/94/EC of the European Parliament             interpreted as precluding a provision, such as point 2 of the first
     and of the Council of 13 December 1999 relating to the                  sentence of Paragraph 72(b)(1) of the Bundesbeamtengesetz (German
     availability of consumer information on fuel economy and CO 2           Law on federal public servants), in the version of 31 March 1999 in
     emissions in respect of the marketing of new passenger cars, the        force until 30 June 2000, by virtue of which part-time work for older
     Federal Republic of Germany has failed to fulfil its obligations        employees may be authorised for public servants only if they have
     under that directive;                                                   worked full-time for a total of at least three of the five years preceding
                                                                             such part-time work, when significantly more women than men work
                                                                             part-time and are consequently excluded by that provision from the
2.   Orders the Federal Republic of Germany to pay the costs.                scheme of part-time work for older employees, unless such provision
                                                                             is justified by objective factors unrelated to any discrimination on
                                                                             grounds of sex.
(1) OJ C 97 of 20.4.2002.
                                                                             (1) OJ C 118 of 18.5.2002.