CELEX: C2000/047/15
Language: en
Date: 2000-02-19 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court of 23 November 1999 in Joined Cases C-369/96 and C-376/96 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal Correctionnel de Huy): Criminal proceedings against Jean-Claude Arblade, Arblade & Fils SARL, as the party civilly liable (C-369/96), and Bernard Leloup, Serge Leloup, Sofrage SARL, as the party civilly liable (C-376/96) (Freedom to provide services — Temporary deployment of workers for the purposes of performing a contract — Restrictions)

19.2.2000                EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                                C 47/9
                  JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                        pay, in respect of each worker deployed, employers’ contributions
                                                                               to schemes such as the Belgian ‘timbres-intempéries’ and
                                                                               ‘timbres-fidélité’ schemes, and to issue to each of such workers an
                       of 23 November 1999                                     individual record, where the undertaking in question is already
                                                                               subject, in the Member State in which it is established, to
                                                                               obligations which are essentially comparable, as regards their
in Joined Cases C-369/96 and C-376/96 (reference for a                         objective of safeguarding the interests of workers, and which
preliminary ruling from the Tribunal Correctionnel de                          relate to the same workers and the same periods of activity.
Huy): Criminal proceedings against Jean-Claude Arblade,
Arblade & Fils SARL, as the party civilly liable (C-369/96),
and Bernard Leloup, Serge Leloup, Sofrage SARL, as the                     3. Articles 59 and 60 of the Treaty preclude the imposition by a
                 party civilly liable (C-376/96) (1)                           Member State on an undertaking established in another Member
                                                                               State, and temporarily carrying out work in the first State, of an
                                                                               obligation — even if laid down in public-order legislation — to
(Freedom to provide services — Temporary deployment of                         draw up social or labour documents such as labour rules, a
workers for the purposes of performing a contract —                            special staff register and an individual account for each worker in
                            Restrictions)                                      the form prescribed by the rules of the first State, where the social
                                                                               protection of workers which may justify those requirements is
                           (2000/C 47/15)                                      already safeguarded by the production of social and labour
                                                                               documents kept by the undertaking in question in accordance
                                                                               with the rules applying in the Member State in which it is
                                                                               established.
                     (Language of the case: French)
                                                                               That is the position where, as regards the keeping of social and
                                                                               labour documents, the undertaking is already subject, in the
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published         Member State in which it is established, to obligations which are
                    in the European Court Reports)                             comparable, as regards their objective of safeguarding the interests
                                                                               of workers, to those imposed by the legislation of the host
                                                                               Member State, and which relate to the same workers and the
In Joined Cases C-369/96 and C-376/96: reference to the                        same periods of activity.
Court under Article 177 of the EC Treaty (now Article 234
EC) from the Tribunal Correctionnel de Huy (Huy Criminal
Court) (Belgium) for a preliminary ruling in the criminal                  4. Articles 59 and 60 of the Treaty do not preclude the imposition
proceedings pending before that court against Jean-Claude                      by a Member State on an undertaking established in another
Arblade, Arblade & Fils SARL, as the party civilly liable                      Member State, and temporarily carrying out work in the first
(C-369/96), and Bernard Leloup, Serge Leloup, Sofrage SARL,                    State, of an obligation to keep social and labour documents
as the party civilly liable (C-376/96) — on the interpretation                 available, throughout the period of activity within the territory of
of Articles 59 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment,                         the first Member State, on site or in an accessible and clearly
Article 49 EC) and 60 of the EC Treaty (now Article 50 EC) —                   identified place within the territory of that State, where such a
the Court, composed of: G.C. Rodrı́guez Iglesias, President,                   measure is necessary in order to enable it effectively to monitor
J.C. Moitinho de Almeida, D.A.O. Edward (Rapporteur) and                       compliance with legislation of that State which is justified by the
R. Schintgen (Presidents of Chambers), J.-P. Puissochet,                       need to safeguard the social protection of workers.
G. Hirsch, P. Jann, H. Ragnemalm and M. Wathelet, Judges;
D. Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer, Advocate General; D. Louterman-
Hubeau, Principal Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a            5. Articles 59 and 60 of the Treaty preclude the imposition by a
judgment on 23 November 1999, in which it has ruled:                           Member State on an undertaking established in another Member
                                                                               State, and temporarily carrying out work in the first State, of an
1. Articles 59 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 49              obligation — even if laid down in public-order legislation — to
     EC) and 60 of the EC Treaty (now Article 50 EC) do not                    retain, for a period of five years after the undertaking in question
     preclude the imposition by a Member State on an undertaking               has ceased to employ workers in the first Member State, of social
     established in another Member State, and temporarily carrying             documents such as a staff register and individual accounts, at the
     out work in the first State, of an obligation to pay the workers          address within that Member State of a natural person who holds
     deployed by it the minimum remuneration fixed by the collective           those documents as an agent or servant.
     labour agreement applicable in the first Member State, provided
     that the provisions in question are sufficiently precise and
     accessible that they do not render it impossible or excessively
     difficult in practice for such an employer to determine the           (1) OJ C 9 of 11.1.1997.
     obligations with which he is required to comply.                          OJ C 40 of 8.2.1997.
2. Articles 59 and 60 of the Treaty preclude the imposition by a
     Member State on an undertaking established in another Member
     State, and temporarily carrying out work in the first State, of an
     obligation — even if laid down in public-order legislation — to