CELEX: C1999/048/02
Language: en
Date: 1999-02-20 00:00:00
Title: JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Fifth Chamber) of 10 December 1998 in Case C-221/97 P: Aloys Schröder, Jan Thamann and Karl-Julius Thamann v. Commission of the European Communities (Non-contractual liability of the Community - Control of classical swine fever in the Federal Republic of Germany)

20.2.1999            EN                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                        C 48/1
                                                                 I
                                                           (Information)
                                             COURT OF JUSTICE
                                                       COURT OF JUSTICE
              JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                  Member States relating to the safeguarding of employees'
                       (Fifth Chamber)                               rights in the event of transfers of undertakings, businesses
                                                                     or parts of businesses is to be interpreted as meaning that
                   of 10 December 1998
                                                                     the directive applies to a situation in which a public body
in Joined Cases C-173/96 and C-247/96 (references for a              which had contracted out its home-help service for
preliminary ruling from the Tribunal Superior de Justicia            persons in need or awarded a contract for maintaining
de Castilla-La Mancha and from the Arbeitsgericht                    surveillance of some of its premises to a first undertaking
Lörrach): Francisca SaÂnchez Hidalgo and Others v.                   decides, upon expiry of or after termination of the
Asociación de Servicios Aser and Sociedad Cooperativa                contract which it had with that first undertaking, to
Minerva (C-173/96), and Horst Ziemann v. Ziemann                     contract out that service or award that contract to a
Sicherheit GmbH and Horst Bohn Sicherheitsdienst                     second undertaking, provided that the operation is
                         (C-247/96) (1)                              accompanied by the transfer of an economic entity
(Safeguarding of employees' rights in the event of transfers         between the two undertakings. The term economic entity'
                      of undertakings)                               refers to an organised grouping of persons and assets
                                                                     enabling an economic activity which pursues a specific
                        (1999/C 48/01)                               objective to be exercised. The mere fact that the service
       (Languages of the cases: Spanish and German)                  successively provided by the old and the new undertaking
                                                                     to which the service is contracted out or the contract is
 (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be        awarded is similar does not justify the conclusion that a
         published in the European Court Reports)                    transfer of such an entity has occurred.
In Joined Cases C-173/96 and C-247/96: references to the             (1) OJ C 197, 6.7.1996 and OJ C 294, 5.10.1996.
Court under Article 177 of the EC Treaty from the
Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Castilla-La Mancha
(Spain) (C-173/96) and by the Arbeitsgericht Lörrach
(Germany) (C-247/96) for a preliminary ruling in the
proceedings pending before those courts between
Francisca SaÂnchez Hidalgo and Others and Asociación de                            JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
Servicios Aser and Sociedad Cooperativa Minerva                                             (Fifth Chamber)
(C-173/96), and between Horst Ziemann and Ziemann
Sicherheit GmbH and Horst Bohn Sicherheitsdienst                                         of 10 December 1998
(C-247/96) Ð on the interpretation of Council Directive              in Case C-221/97 P: Aloys Schröder, Jan Thamann and
77/187/EEC of 14 February 1977 on the approximation of               Karl-Julius Thamann v. Commission of the European
the laws of the Member States relating to the safeguarding                                  Communities (1)
of employees' rights in the event of transfers of
                                                                     (Non-contractual liability of the Community Ð Control of
undertakings, businesses or parts of businesses (OJ L 61,
                                                                      classical swine fever in the Federal Republic of Germany)
5.3.1977, p. 26) Ð the Court (Fifth Chamber), composed
of: J.-P. Puissochet (Rapporteur), President of the                                          (1999/C 48/02)
Chamber, P. Jann, J. C. Moitinho de Almeida, C.
Gulmann and D. A. O. Edward, Judges; G. Cosmas,                                     (Language of the case: German)
Advocate-General; H. von Holstein, Deputy Registrar, for
the Registrar, has given a judgment on 10 December 1998,               (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be
in which it has ruled:                                                        published in the European Court Reports)
Article 1(1) of Council Directive 77/187/EEC of                      In Case C-221/97 P: Aloys Schröder, Jan Thamann and
14 February 1977 on the approximation of the laws of the             Karl-Julius Thamann, acting in the capacity of partners in
 ---pagebreak--- C 48/2               EN                   Official Journal of the European Communities                                    20.2.1999
Zuchtschweine Epe GbR, a partnership governed by                     Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer, Advocate-General; L. Hewlett,
German law, established in Neuenkirchen (Germany),                   Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on
represented by Gerd Rentzmann and Rudolf Brenken,                    10 December 1998, in which it has ruled:
Rechtsanwälte, Quakenbrück, with an address for service
in Luxembourg at the Chambers of Michel Molitor, Pierre
                                                                     1. In the case of a former frontier worker and recipient
Feltgen and AndreÂ Harpes, 14A Rue des Bains Ð appeal
                                                                          of invalidity benefits who lives in a Member State
against the judgment of the Court of First Instance of the
                                                                          other than that of the institution responsible for
European Communities (Fifth Chamber) of 15 April 1997
                                                                          payment, and whose place of residence is nearer to the
in Case T-390/94 Schröder and Others v. Commission
                                                                          institution of the competent Member State than to the
[1997] ECR II-501, seeking to have that judgment set
                                                                          institution of the State of residence, Article 51(1) of
aside, the other party to the proceedings being:
                                                                          Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 of the Council of
Commission of the European Communities (Agent:
                                                                          21 March 1972 fixing the procedure for implementing
Claudia Schmidt, assisted by Bertrand Wägenbaur) Ð the
                                                                          Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 on the application of
Court (Fifth Chamber), composed of: P. Jann
                                                                          social security schemes to employed persons and their
(Rapporteur), President of the First Chamber, acting as
                                                                          families moving within the Community, as amended
President of the Fifth Chamber, C. Gulmann, D. A. O.
                                                                          and updated by Regulation (EEC) No 2001/83
Edward, L. Sevón and M. Wathelet, Judges; D.
                                                                          precludes the competent institution from carrying out
Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer, Advocate-General; R. Grass,
                                                                          the administrative checks and medical examination of
Registrar, has given a judgment on 10 December 1998, in
                                                                          that worker without requesting a prior examination by
which it:
                                                                          the institution of his place of residence. However, the
                                                                          provision does not preclude the worker from waiving
1. Dismisses the appeal.                                                  the right to undergo the prior examination by the
                                                                          institution of his place of residence, provided that his
2. Orders the appellants to pay the costs.                                waiver is freely made and unambiguous.
(1) OJ C 252, 16.8.1997.                                             2. In the case of a first assessment of invalidity benefit
                                                                          granted to a person who is resident in a Member State
                                                                          other than that of the competent institution, Article 40
                                                                          of the Regulation does not preclude the competent
                                                                          institution from determining the degree of invalidity
                                                                          on the basis of its own medical examination without
              JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                       requesting a prior examination by the institution of
                      (Third Chamber)                                     the place of residence. However, the competent
                                                                          institution must take account of any documents,
                    of 10 December 1998                                   medical reports and administrative information from
in Case C-279/97 (reference for a preliminary ruling from                 the institution in the Member State in which the
the Centrale Raad van Beroep): Bestuur van het Landelijk                  worker resides.
Instituut Sociale Verzekeringen v. C. J. M. Voeten and
                          J. Beckers (1)                             (1) OJ C 271, 6.9.1997.
(Social security Ð Frontier workers Ð Invalidity Ð
                    Medical examination)
                        (1999/C 48/03)
                (Language of the case: Dutch)
                                                                                    JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                                                                                            (Third Chamber)
  (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be
         published in the European Court Reports)                                         of 10 December 1998
                                                                     in Case C-290/97 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
In Case C-279/97: reference to the Court under Article 177           the Bundesfinanzhof): Georg Bruner, trading as Georg
of the EC Treaty from the Centrale Raad van Beroep                             Bruner' v. Hauptzollamt Hamburg-Jonas (1)
(Netherlands) for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings
pending before that court between Bestuur van het                    (Export refunds Ð Nomenclature of agricultural products)
Landelijk Instituut Sociale Verzekeringen and C. J. M.                                       (1999/C 48/04)
Voeten, J. Beckers Ð on the interpretation of Articles 40
and 51 of Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 of the Council of
21 March 1972 fixing the procedure for implementing                                  (Language of the case: German)
Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 on the application of social
security schemes to employed persons and their families
                                                                       (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be
moving within the Community, as amended and updated
                                                                               published in the European Court Reports)
by Regulation (EEC) No 2001/83 (OJ L 230, 22.8.1984,
p. 86) Ð the Court (Third Chamber), composed of: J.-P.
Puissochet, President of the Chamber, J. C. Moitinho de              In Case C-290/97: reference to the Court under Article 177
Almeida (Rapporteur) and C. Gulmann, Judges; D.                      of the EC Treaty from the Bundesfinanzhof (Germany) for