CELEX: C2000/102/10
Language: en
Date: 2000-04-08 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 10 February 2000 in Joined Cases C-270/97 and C-271/97 (references for preliminary rulings from the Landesarbeitsgericht Niedersachsen): Deutsche Post AG v Elisabeth Sievers (C-270/97), Brunhilde Schrage (C-271/97) (Equal pay for men and women — Article 119 of the EC Treaty (Articles 117 to 120 of the EC Treaty have been replaced by Articles 136 EC to 143 EC)— Protocol concerning Article 119 of the EC Treaty — Occupational social security schemes — Exclusion of part-time workers affiliated to a supplementary occupational retirement pension scheme — Retroactive membership — Entitlement to a pension — Relationship between national law and Community law — Interpretation consonant with Community law)

8.4.2000                 EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                             C 102/7
2. The fact that the relevant national provisions prohibit all                  EC), resulting from the judgment in Case 43/75 Defrenne v
    discrimination against workers by reason of the fact that they              Sabena [1976] ECR 455, does not preclude national provisions
    work part time, and not by reason of their sex, does not affect the         which lay down a principle of equal treatment by virtue of which,
    answer to be given to the first question.                                   in circumstances like those of the main proceedings, all part-time
                                                                                workers are entitled to retroactive membership of an occupational
                                                                                pension scheme and to receive a pension under that scheme.
(1) OJ C 269 of 14.9.1996.
                                                                           2. Article 119 of the Treaty does not preclude provisions of a
                                                                                Member State which lay down a principle of equal treatment by
                                                                                virtue of which, in circumstances like those of the main
                                                                                proceedings, all part-time workers are entitled to retroactive
                                                                                membership of a private occupational pension scheme and to
                                                                                receive a pension under that scheme, notwithstanding the risk of
                 JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                          distortions of competition between economic operators of the
                                                                                various Member States to the detriment of employers established
                          (Sixth Chamber)                                       in the first Member State.
                        of 10 February 2000                                3. National courts are required to interpret their national law as far
                                                                                as possible in the light of the wording and purpose of the relevant
in Joined Cases C-270/97 and C-271/97 (references for                           Community provisions, in particular Article 119 of the Treaty,
preliminary rulings from the Landesarbeitsgericht Nieder-                       in order to ensure application of the principle of equal pay for
sachsen): Deutsche Post AG v Elisabeth Sievers                                  men and women.
         (C-270/97), Brunhilde Schrage (C-271/97) (1)
                                                                           (1) OJ C 271 of 6.9.1997.
(Equal pay for men and women — Article 119 of the EC
Treaty (Articles 117 to 120 of the EC Treaty have been
replaced by Articles 136 EC to 143 EC) — Protocol
concerning Article 119 of the EC Treaty — Occupational
social security schemes — Exclusion of part-time workers
affiliated to a supplementary occupational retirement pen-
sion scheme — Retroactive membership — Entitlement to a
pension — Relationship between national law and Com-
munity law — Interpretation consonant with Community                                          JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                                 law)
                                                                                                      (Sixth Chamber)
                           (2000/C 102/10)
                                                                                                    of 10 February 2000
                    (Language of the case: German)
                                                                           in Case C-340/97 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
                                                                           the Bayerisches Verwaltungsgericht Ansbach): Ömer
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published         Nazli, Caglar Nazli, Melike Nazli v Stadt Nürnberg (1)
                    in the European Court Reports)
In Joined Cases C-270/97 and C-271/97: references to the                   (EEC-Turkey Association Agreement — Freedom of move-
Court under Article 177 of the EC Treaty (now Article 234                  ment for workers — Articles 6(1) and 14(1) of Decision
EC) from the Landesarbeitsgericht Niedersachsen (Germany)                  No 1/80 of the Association Council — Registration as duly
for preliminary rulings in the proceedings pending before                  belonging to the labour force of a Member State — Turkish
that court between Deutsche Post AG and Elisabeth Sievers                  worker detained pending trial and subsequently sentenced to
(C-270/97), Brunhilde Schrage (C-271/97) — on the interpret-               a suspended term of imprisonment — Expulsion on general
ation of Article 119 of the EC Treaty (Articles 117 to 120 of                                        preventive grounds)
the EC Treaty have been replaced by Articles 136 EC to 143
EC) and of the Protocol concerning Article 119 of the Treaty                                           (2000/C 102/11)
establishing the European Community, annexed to the EC
Treaty — the Court (Sixth Chamber), composed of: R. Schint-
gen (Rapporteur), President of the Second Chamber, acting for                                   (Language of the case: German)
the President of the Sixth Chamber, G. Hirsch and H. Ragne-
malm, Judges; G. Cosmas, Advocate General; H.A. Rühl, Princi-
pal Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on              (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
10 February 2000, in which it has ruled:                                                        in the European Court Reports)
1. The limitation in time of the possibility of relying on the direct
    effect of Article 119 of the EC Treaty (Articles 117 to 120 of         In Case C-340/97: reference to the Court under Article 177 of
    the EC Treaty have been replaced by Articles 136 EC to 143             the EC Treaty (now Article 234 EC) from the Bayerisches