CELEX: C2003/275/20
Language: en
Date: 2003-11-15 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 11 September 2003 in Case C-201/01 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Oberster Gerichtshof): Maria Walcher v Bundesamt für Soziales und Behindertenwesen Steiermark (Protection of workers — Insolvency of the employer — Scope of Directive 80/987/EEC — National case-law on shareholder loans in lieu of capital contributions — Total loss of entitlement)

C 275/12                EN                           Official Journal of the European Union                                            15.11.2003
4.   In Case C-172/01 P, orders International Power plc to pay its           marketed in Denmark only if it is shown that such enrichment
     own costs in the proceedings before the Court of Justice                with nutrients meets a need in the Danish population, the
     and those incurred by NALOO in these proceedings. The                   Kingdom of Denmark has failed to fulfil its obligations under
     Commission of the European Communities is to pay its own                Article 28 EC, the Court, composed of: J.-P. Puissochet,
     costs.                                                                  President of the Sixth Chamber, acting for the President,
                                                                             M. Wathelet, R. Schintgen and C.W.A. Timmermans (Presi-
5.   In Case C-175/01 P, orders NALOO to pay its own costs in                dents of Chambers), C. Gulmann, A. La Pergola, F. Macken
     the proceedings before the Court of Justice and those incurred by       (Rapporteur), N. Colneric, S. von Bahr, J.N. Cunha Rodrigues
     British Coal Corporation and the Commission of the European             and A. Rosas, Judges; J. Mischo, Advocate General; H. von
     Communities in these proceedings.                                       Holstein, Deputy Registrar, has given a judgment on 23 Sep-
                                                                             tember 2003, in which it:
6.   In Case C-176/01 P, orders PowerGen (UK) plc to pay its own
     costs in the proceedings before the Court of Justice and those
                                                                             1.    Declares that by applying an administrative practice which
     incurred by NALOO in these proceedings. The Commission of
                                                                                   entails that enriched foodstuffs lawfully produced or marketed
     the European Communities is to pay its own costs.                             in other Member States can be marketed in Denmark only if it
                                                                                   is shown that such enrichment with nutrients meets a need in
7.   In Case C-180/01 P, orders each party to pay its own costs in                 the Danish population, the Kingdom of Denmark has failed to
     the proceedings before the Court of Justice.                                  fulfil its obligations under Article 28 EC.
8.   Orders the Commission of the European Communities and
                                                                             2.    Orders the Kingdom of Denmark to pay the costs.
     NALOO each to pay their own costs in the proceedings before
     the Court of First Instance. International Power plc, British
     Coal Corporation and PowerGen (UK) plc are each to pay their
                                                                             (1) OJ C 200 of 14.7.2001.
     own costs as interveners in the proceedings before the Court of
     First Instance.
(1) OJ C 200 of 14.07.2001.
                                                                                                JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                                                                                                         (Sixth Chamber)
                 JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                      of 23 September 2003                                                            of 11 September 2003
in Case C-192/01: Commission of the European Communi-                        in Case C-201/01 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from
                ties v Kingdom of Denmark (1)                                the Oberster Gerichtshof): Maria Walcher v Bundesamt
                                                                                  für Soziales und Behindertenwesen Steiermark (1)
(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Articles 28
EC and 30 EC — Prohibition on marketing of foodstuffs to                     (Protection of workers — Insolvency of the employer —
which vitamins and minerals have been added — Justifi-                       Scope of Directive 80/987/EEC — National case-law on
         cation — Public health — Nutritional need)                          shareholder loans in lieu of capital contributions — Total
                                                                                                        loss of entitlement)
                         (2003/C 275/19)
                                                                                                          (2003/C 275/20)
                   (Language of the case: Danish)
                                                                                                  (Language of the case: German)
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
                   in the European Court Reports)
                                                                             (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
                                                                                                   in the European Court Reports)
In Case C-192/01, Commission of the European Communities
(Agent: H. C. Støvlbæk) v Kingdom of Denmark (Agent:
J. Molde): Application for a declaration that, by applying an                In Case C-201/01: Reference to the Court under Article 234
administrative practice which entails that enriched foodstuffs               EC by the Oberster Gerichtshof (Austria) for a preliminary
lawfully produced or marketed in other Member States may be                  ruling in the proceedings pending before that court between
 ---pagebreak--- 15.11.2003              EN                           Official Journal of the European Union                                                 C 275/13
Maria Walcher and Bundesamt für Soziales und Behinderten-                                      JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
wesen Steiermark, on the interpretation of Council Directive
80/987/EEC of 20 October 1980 on the approximation of the
laws of the Member States relating to the protection of                                              of 30 September 2003
employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer (OJ
1980 L 283, p. 23), as amended by the Act concerning the
conditions of accession of the Republic of Austria, the Republic             in Case C-224/01 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from
of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden and the adjustments to                  the Landesgericht für Zivilrechtssachen Wien): Gerhard
the Treaties on which the European Union is founded (OJ                                       Köbler v Republik Österreich (1)
1994 C 241, p. 21, and OJ 1995 L 1, p. 1), the Court (Sixth
Chamber), composed of: J.-P. Puissochet, President of the
Chamber, C. Gulmann, F. Macken, N. Colneric (Rapporteur)                     (Equal treatment — Remuneration of university professors
and J.N. Cunha Rodrigues, Judges; J. Mischo, Advocate General;               — Indirect discrimination — Length-of-service increment —
R. Grass, Registrar, has given a judgment on 11 September                    Liability of a Member State for damage caused to individuals
2003, in which it has ruled:                                                 by infringements of Community law for which it is respon-
                                                                                sible — Infringements attributable to a national court)
                                                                                                        (2003/C 275/21)
1.    Council Directive 80/987/EEC of 20 October 1980 on the
      approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the
      protection of employees in the event of the insolvency of their                             (Language of the case: German)
      employer, as amended by the Act concerning the conditions of
      accession of the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland
      and the Kingdom of Sweden and the adjustments to the Treaties          (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
      on which the European Union is founded precludes a rule that                                in the European Court Reports)
      an employee with a significant shareholding in the private
      limited company that employs him, but who does not exercise a
      dominant influence over that company, loses, pursuant to the
      Austrian case-law relating to shareholder loans in lieu of capital
      contributions, his entitlement to the guarantee in respect of          In Case C-224/01: Reference to the Court under Article 234
      claims for outstanding pay which result from the employer’s            EC by the Landesgericht für Zivilrechtssachen Wien (Austria),
      insolvency and are covered by Article 4(2) of that directive if, in    for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that
      the 60 days from the time he first could have become aware             court between Gerhard Köbler and Republik Österreich, on
      that the company was no longer creditworthy, he fails to make          the interpretation, first, of Article 48 of the EC Treaty (now,
      any genuine demand for payment of salary owed to him.                  after amendment, Article 39 EC) and, secondly, the judgments
                                                                             of the Court in Joined Cases C-46/93 and C-48/93Brasserie du
                                                                             Pêcheur and Factortame [1996] ECR I-1029 and Case C-54/
                                                                             96Dorsch Consult [1997] ECR I-4961, the Court, composed of:
2.    To avoid abuses a Member State is, in principle, entitled to take      G.C. Rodríguez Iglesias, President, J.-P. Puissochet, M. Wathelet,
      measures that deny such an employee an entitlement to a                R. Schintgen and C.W.A. Timmermans (Rapporteur) (Presi-
      guarantee in respect of claims for outstanding salary arising          dents of Chambers), C. Gulmann, D.A.O. Edward, A. La
      after the date on which an employee who is not a shareholder           Pergola, P. Jann, V. Skouris, F. Macken, N. Colneric, S. von
      would have resigned on the ground of non-payment of his                Bahr, J.N. Cunha Rodrigues and A. Rosas, Judges; P. Léger,
      salary, unless it is established that there has been no abusive        Advocate General; H.A. Rühl, Principal Administrator, for the
      conduct. As regards the guarantee to pay claims covered by             Registrar, has given a judgment on 30 September 2003, in
      Article 4(2) of Directive 80/987, as amended, the Member               which it has ruled:
      State is not entitled to assume that, as a general rule, an
      employee who is not a shareholder would have resigned on the
      ground of non-payment of his salary before his salary had been         1.    The principle that Member States are obliged to make good
      in arrears for a period of three months.                                     damage caused to individuals by infringements of Community
                                                                                   law for which they are responsible is also applicable where the
                                                                                   alleged infringement stems from a decision of a court adjudicat-
                                                                                   ing at last instance where the rule of Community law infringed
                                                                                   is intended to confer rights on individuals, the breach is
                                                                                   sufficiently serious and there is a direct causal link between that
(1) OJ C 212 of 28.7.2001.                                                         breach and the loss or damage sustained by the injured parties.
                                                                                   In order to determine whether the infringement is sufficiently
                                                                                   serious when the infringement at issue stems from such a
                                                                                   decision, the competent national court, taking into account the
                                                                                   specific nature of the judicial function, must determine whether
                                                                                   that infringement is manifest. It is for the legal system of each
                                                                                   Member State to designate the court competent to determine
                                                                                   disputes relating to that reparation.