CELEX: C1996/197/20
Language: en
Date: 1996-07-06 00:00:00
Title: Action brought on 6 May 1996 by the Commission of the European Communities against Ireland (Case C-151/96)

6 . 7. 96            LM                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                  No C 197/ 11
the Court ofJustice of the European Communities on 3 May                    shipping register to a vessel which is owned in whole or
1996 by Roberto Galtieri, represented by Pietro Como, with                  in part by the Government, a Minister of State, an Irish
an address for service in Luxembourg at the Chambers of S.                 citizen or an Irish body corporate, Ireland has failed to
Oostvogels, 13 rue Aldringen .                                             comply with Articles 6 , 48 , 52 and 58 of the EC Treaty
                                                                           and Article 7 of Commission Regulation ( EEC )
The appellant claims that the Court should :                               No 1251 /70/EEC ( 1 ) of 29 June 1970 and Article 7 of
                                                                            Council     Directive    75/34/EEC     of  17    December
( a) declare the appeal admissible and well founded;                        1974 ( 2 );
( b ) reverse the judgment of the Court of First Instance             2 , order Ireland to pay the costs of these proceedings .
       ( First Chamber );
                                                                      Pleas in law and main arguments:
(c) declare the original action brought by the appellant well
       founded ;                                                      The Commission contents that where a vessel of whatever
                                                                      type it may be is an instrument for pursuing an economic
( d ) annul the decision of the Personnel Division of the             activity, Ireland has infringed Article 52 of the EC Treaty by
       European Parliament of 19 January 1994 to recover the          restricting registration of those vessels in the Irish register
       sum of Lfrs 267 628 (as amended by the European                and the right to fly the Irish flag to those which are owned or
       Parliament's letter of 21 June 1994 );                         shared by the Government, a Minister of State, an Irish
                                                                      citizen or an Irish body corporate .
(e ) order the European Parliament to reimburse forthwith
       the sums previously deducted from the appellant's              Furthermore, the requirement laid down by Section 2 of the
       salary from February 1994 onwards;                             Mercantile Marine Act ( 1955 ) that companies should be
                                                                      established under and subject to Irish law and have their
( f) order the European Parliament to pay default interest            principal place of business in Ireland impedes the right of
       from February 1994, together with costs;                       companies which fulfil the conditions of Article 58 of the EC
                                                                      Treaty and are thereby entitled to exercise freedom of
(g) order the European Parliament to pay Lfrs 100 000 by              establishment in order to manage and operate vessels by way
       way of compensation for the non-material damage                of an agency, branch or subsidiary. As to the condition
       caused by the implementation of the abovementioned             imposed on companies to have their principal place of
       decision of 19 January 1994.                                   business in Ireland, the Commission is of the opinion that
                                                                      this condition unjustifiably precludes a company which is
Pleas in law and main arguments:                                      registered in another Member State from operating a vessel
                                                                      on the basis of a real and continuous representation situated
Infringement of Community law by the Court of First                   onshore in Ireland .
Instance, particularly as regards the assessment as to
whether the payments forming the object of the contested              Where the vessel is not an instrument for pursuing an
decision to recover the sum aforesaid were patently                   economic activity but is rather used as a pleasure craft, the
undue .                                                               Commission considers that, in providing for such
                                                                      restrictions as those mentioned above, Ireland has infringed
(M OJ No C 108 , 13 . 4 . 1996 , p. 7 .                               Articles 6, 48 and 52 of the EC Treaty, Article 7 of
                                                                      Commission Regulation ( EEC ) No 1251/70 and Article 7 of
                                                                      Council Directive 75/34/EEC .
                                                                      (!) OJ No L 142, 30. 6 . 1970, p. 24; EE 05 Fl , p. 93 .
                                                                      (2 ) OJ No L 14, 20. 1 . 1975, p. 10; EE 06 Fl , p. 183 .
Action brought on 6 May 1996 by the Commission of the
              European Communities against Ireland
                         ( Case C-151/96 )
                           ( 96/C 197/20 )
                                                                      Appeal brought on 7 May 1996 by Jan Robert de Rijk
An action against Ireland was brought before the Court of             against the judgment delivered on 7 March 1996 by the Fifth
Justice of the European Communities on 6 May 1 996 by the             Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the European
 Commission of the European Communities, represented by               Communities in Case T-362/94 between Jan Robert de Rijk
 Frank Benyon and Xavier Lewis, Legal Adviser and Member                  and the Commission of the European Communities (*)
 of the Legal Service respectively acting as Agent, with an
                                                                                              (Case C-1 53/96 P)
 address for service in Luxembourg at the office of Carlos
 Gômez de la Cruz, Member of its Legal Service, Wagner                                           ( 96/C 197/21 )
 Centre, Kirchberg.
                                                                       An appeal against the judgment delivered on 7 March 1996
 The applicant claims that the Court should :                          by the Fifth Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the
                                                                       European Communities in Case T-362/94 between Jan
 1 , declare that, by maintaining in force laws, regulations           Robert de Rijk and the Commission of the European
      and administrative provisions which limit the right to           Communities was brought before the Court of Justice of the
      register a vessel other than a fishing vessel in the Irish       European Communities on 7 May 1996 by Jan Robert de