CELEX: 62002CJ0423
Language: en
Date: 2003-10-16
Title: Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 16 October 2003. # Commission of the European Communities v United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. # Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations - Environment - Landfill of waste - Directive 1999/31/EC. # Case C-423/02.

Case C-423/02 Commission of the European CommunitiesvUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
            «(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations – Environment – Landfill of waste – Directive 1999/31/EC)»
            
               
                  Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber), 16 October 2003  
                     
               I - 0000 
               
            
                   
               
               
            
            Summary of the Judgment
         
         
                  
                  Actions for failure to fulfil obligations – Examination of merits by the Court – Situation to be taken into consideration – Situation at the end of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion(Art. 226 EC)
      

      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
            
            JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Third Chamber)16 October 2003 (1)
         
         
            
         
               ((Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations – Environment – Landfill of waste – Directive 1999/31/EC))
               
            In Case C-423/02, 
            
            
             Commission of the European Communities,  represented by X. Lewis and M. Konstantinidis, acting as Agents, with an address for service in Luxembourg,
            
            
            applicant, 
            
            v
             United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,  represented by P. Ormond, acting as Agent, with an address for service in Luxembourg,
            
            defendant, 
            
            APPLICATION for a declaration that, by failing to adopt all the laws, regulations or administrative provisions necessary to
            comply with Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste (OJ 1999 L 182, p. 1) or, in any event,
            by failing to notify such provisions to the Commission, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has failed
            to fulfil fully its obligations under Article 18 of that directive,
            
            
            THE COURT (Third Chamber),,
            
            composed of: J.-P. Puissochet, President of the Chamber, F. Macken (Rapporteur) and J.N. Cunha Rodrigues, Judges, 
            
            Advocate General: J. Mischo, Registrar: R. Grass, 
            
            
            having regard to the report of the Judge-Rapporteur,
            
            having decided, after hearing the Advocate General, to proceed to judgment without an Opinion,
         gives the following
         
         
         Judgment
         1
            
         By application lodged at the Court Registry on 22 November 2002, the Commission of the European Communities brought an action
         under Article 226 EC for a declaration that, by failing to adopt all the laws, regulations or administrative provisions necessary
         to comply with Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste (OJ 1999 L 182, p. 1;  
         the Directive) or, in any event, by failing to notify such provisions to the Commission, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
         Ireland has failed to fulfil fully its obligations under Article 18 of the directive. 
         
            
               The legal background
            
         
         2
            
         As stated in Article 1, the Directive aims, by way of stringent operational and technical requirements on waste and landfills,
         to provide for measures, procedures and guidance to prevent or reduce as far as possible negative effects on the environment
         from the landfilling of waste. 
         
         
         3
            
         As provided in Article 18 of the Directive: 1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this
         directive not later than two years after its entry into force. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof....2. Member States shall communicate the texts of the provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this
         directive to the Commission.
         
         
         4
            
         The Directive entered into force on 16 July 1999. 
         The facts and pre-litigation procedure
         
         5
            
         In accordance with the procedure laid down in the first paragraph of Article 226 EC the Commission, having given the United
         Kingdom the opportunity to submit its observations, sent it a reasoned opinion, by letter of 21 March 2002, requesting it
         to take the measures necessary to fulfil its obligations under the Directive within two months of notification of the reasoned
         opinion. 
         
         
         6
            
         The Commission stated in the reasoned opinion that the measures necessary for the implementation of the Directive in England,
         Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar had not yet been adopted or, in any event, had not been notified to it. 
         
         
         7
            
         In its reply of 4 June 2002 the United Kingdom accepted that the Directive had not been fully transposed within the period
         prescribed in the Directive, that is to say, by 16 July 2001. 
         
         
         8
            
         However, it informed the Commission of various measures aimed at transposing the Directive: 
         
         
         ─
            as regards England and Wales, the Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations were in the process of being adopted to implement
            the Directive with the exception of the obligations arising from Article 5(1) and (2). Other regulations were to be drawn
            up to implement those particular provisions during 2002. The text of the Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations adopted
            was notified to the Commission by letter of 24 June 2002; 
         
         
         
         ─
            in Scotland, the Directive would not enter into force by 16 July 2002, when landfill site operators were required to submit
            site conditioning plans. The Scottish Executive would use a Ministerial Direction under section 40 of the Environment Act
            1995 to require landfill site operators to submit site conditioning plans so that sites could be classified in accordance
            with the Directive; 
         
         
         
         ─
            new legislation was to be introduced in Northern Ireland so that the implementing regulations could be adopted in 2003; 
         
         
         
         ─
            in Gibraltar an ordinance to transpose the Directive would be put to the legislative body in July or September 2002. 
         
         
         
         
         9
            
         Taking the view that the Directive had not been fully transposed in all the territory of the United Kingdom at the end of
         the period prescribed in the reasoned opinion, the Commission decided to bring the present action. 
         The action
         
         10
            
         The Commission takes the view that even though the United Kingdom has kept it informed of progress made with a view to the
         transposition of the Directive, the fact remains that the Directive has not been fully transposed in all parts of the United
         Kingdom as required by Article 18. 
         
         
         11
            
         The Commission argues that it was the duty of the United Kingdom authorities to initiate, in due time, the procedures necessary
         for transposing the Directive into domestic law so that those procedures were completed within the time-limit laid down, irrespective
         of their nature.  
         
         
         12
            
         The United Kingdom Government does not dispute its failure to fulfil its obligations and accepts that the action is well founded.
         It explains, as it did during the pre-litigation phase that, as regards England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively,
         various provisions are in the process of being adopted in order to complete the transposition of the Directive. 
         
         
         13
            
         According to settled case-law, the question whether a Member State has failed to fulfil its obligations must be determined
         by reference to the situation prevailing in the Member State at the end of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion (see,
         inter alia, Case C-143/02  
          Commission  v  
          Italy  [2003] ECR I-2877, paragraph 11; and Case C-446/01  
          Commission  v  
          Spain  [2003] ECR I-6053, paragraph 15). 
         
         
         14
            
         The United Kingdom accepts that at the end of the period prescribed in the reasoned opinion, not all the laws, regulations
         and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the Directive had been adopted. Accordingly, the Commission's action
         must be considered well founded. 
         
         
         15
            
         It must therefore be held that, by failing to adopt all the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply
         with the Directive, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article
         18 of the Directive. 
         
         Costs
         16
            
         Under Article 69(2) of the Rules of Procedure, the unsuccessful party is to be ordered to pay the costs if they have been
         applied for in the successful party's pleadings. Since the Commission has applied for costs and the United Kingdom has been
         unsuccessful, the latter must be ordered to pay the costs. 
         
         On those grounds, 
         
         
         
            
            THE COURT (Third Chamber)
         
         
         hereby: 
         
            
            1.
             Declares that, by failing to adopt all the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Council
            Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has
            failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 18 of the Directive; 
            
            
            2.
             Orders the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to pay the costs. 
            
            
                  Puissochet
               
               
                  Macken 
               
               
                  Cunha Rodrigues 
               
            
                  
               
               
                  
               
               
                  
               
            
                  
               
               
                  
               
               
                  
               
            
                  
               
               
                  
               
               
                  
               
            
                  
               
               
                  
               
               
                  
               
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
         
         
         Delivered in open court in Luxembourg on 16 October 2003. 
         
         
         
         
                  R. Grass 
               
               
                  V. Skouris  
               
            
         
         
         
                  Registrar
               
               
                  President
               
            
      
      
          1 –
            
             Language of the case: English.