CELEX: C1997/054/22
Language: en
Date: 1997-02-22 00:00:00
Title: Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal d'Instance, Saint-Denis, by judgments of that court of 9 December 1996 in the cases of Société Béton Express v. Direction Régionale des Douanes, Société Nouvelle de Concassage v. Direction Régionale des Douanes, Société Bourbon Lumière v. Direction Régionale des Douanes and Société Ouest Concassage v. Direction Régionale des Douanes - Intervener: Region of La Réunion (Cases C-405/96, C-406/96, C-407/96 and C-408/96)

22 . 2 . 97               EN                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                No C 54/ 15
      which provides that 'the said regions must coincide                  Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:
      with administrative units larger than communes and
       comprise administrative units on which statistics are               Concerning annulment
       available for the reference wine years ', by identifying
       production regions with Member States ?                             — Inadequacy and contradictory nature of the grounds of
                                                                                 the judgment — Error of law: the system in
(') OJ No L 84, 27. 3 . 1987, p. 1 .                                             Martinique, voluntarily limiting imports but with an
( 2 ) OJ No L4S , 18 . 2 . 1988 , p . 15 .                                       aggregate quota ( 15% ) greater than that in
                                                                                 metropolitan France (3 % ), was necessarily of the same
                                                                                 kind as that applying in the latter territory. It is
                                                                                 profoundly contradictory to say that the arrangement
                                                                                 at national level is not of an exclusively State nature
                                                                                 whereas the local arrangement in Martinique is of a
                                                                                 State nature .
Appeal brought on 19 December 1996 by Somaco Sari
against the judgment delivered on 18 September 1996 by                     Concerning compensation
the Fourth Chamber, Extended Composition, of the Court
of First Instance of the European Communities in Case T­                   — In the light of three successive applications to the
387/94 between Asia Motor France SA and Others and                               Court of First Instance ( for declarations of failure to
          the Commission of the European Communities                             act and annulment ), it is beyond dispute that the
                          ( Case C-401 /96 P )                                   Commission has applied Community law in an
                                                                                 unlawful way, in addition by blocking the matter for
                              ( 97/C 54/21 )                                     eleven years . It would be extraordinary if such
                                                                                 conduct were incapable of constituting a wrongful act
                                                                                 or omission involving contractual liability on the part
An appeal against the judgment delivered on 18 September                         of the Commission, requiring it to make good the
1996 by the Fourth Chamber, Extended Composition, of                             damage expressly specified and clearly originating
the Court of First Instance of the European Communities                          from the very conduct objected to .
in Case T-387/94 between Asia Motor France SA, Jean­
Michel Cesbron, Monin Automobiles SA, Europe Auto                          (■) OJ No L 336 , 9 . 11 . 1996 , p . 24 .
Service (EAS ) and Somaco Sari and the Commission of the
European Communities was brought before the Court of
Justice of the European Communities on 19 December
 1996 by Somaco Sari, represented by Jean Claude
Fourgoux, of the Paris Bar, with an address for service in
Luxembourg at the Chambers of Pierrot Schiltz, 4 Rue                       Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal
Beatrix de Bourbon .
                                                                           d'Instance, Saint-Denis , by judgments of that court of
                                                                           9 December 1996 in the cases of Société Béton Express v.
The appellant claims that the Court should :                               Direction Régionale des Douanes, Société Nouvelle de
                                                                           Concassage v. Direction Régionale des Douanes , Société
                                                                           Bourbon Lumière v. Direction Régionale des Douanes and
— set aside the part of the judgment of the Court of First                 Société Ouest Concassage v. Direction Régionale des
       Instance of 18 September 1996 (') dismissing its                             Douanes — Intervener: Region of La Réunion
       application for annulment and damages,
                                                                               ( Cases C-405/96, C-406/96, C-407/96 and C-408/96 )
                                                                                                       ( 97/C 54/22 )
— pursuant to Article 54 of the Statute of the Court of
       Justice:
                                                                           Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the
       — annul      the     decision       of the  Commission      of      European Communities by judgments of the Tribunal
            13 October 1994 in so far as it rejects Somaco's               d'Instance ( District Court ), Saint-Denis , of 9 December
            complaint,                                                      1996 , which were received at the Court Registry on
                                                                           23 December 1996, for a preliminary ruling, in the cases
       — order the Commission, under Articles 178 and 215                  of Société Béton Express v. Direction Régionale des
                                                                           Douanes, Société Nouvelle de Concassage v. Direction
            of the Treaty, to make good the damage caused to
                                                                            Régionale de Douanes , Société Bourbon Lumière v.
            the complainant by the institutions, and,
                                                                            Direction Régionale des Douanes and Société Ouest
            consequently, to fix the quantum of damages at
            the amount of interest at the rate of 9,75 % on the             Concassage v. Direction Régionale des Douanes, on the
                                                                            following question :
            sums at which the main damage is evaluated since
            the decision of 5 December 1991 deciding not to
                                                                            Following the judgment delivered in Legros [ Case C-163/
            pursue the case up to the date of judgment,                     90 Administration des Douanes et Droits Indirects v.
                                                                            Legros and Others [ 1992] ECR I-4625J on 16 July 1992,
 — order the Commission to pay the full costs, both of                      has Law No 92-676 of 17 July 1992, adopted in
       these proceedings and of the proceedings which led to                implementation of the Decision 89/688 of the Council of
        the judgment of the Court of First Instance of                      Ministers of the European Communities of 22 December
        18 September 1996 .                                                 1989 ('), had the effect of replacing a charge having
 ---pagebreak--- No C 54/ 16             EN                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                              22 . 2 . 97
equivalent effect to a customs duty by a true internal tax                       to repay such maternity pay if she does not return to
which is non-discriminatory and thus complies with both                          work for one month on the conclusion of maternity
the letter and the spirit of Article 95 of the Treaty, having                    leav.e .
regard, in particular, to the powers of exemption which it
confers on the regional authorities, giving rise, in La
                                                                         2 . A condition that where a woman, who is absent on
Reunion, to the decision of the Regional Council of
1 1 December 1 992 ?                                                             paid sick leave with a pregnancy related illness, gives
                                                                                 birth during such absence, her maternity leave may be
                                                                                 backdated to the later date of either six weeks before
(') Of No L 399 , 30 . 12 . 1989 , p . 46 .
                                                                                 the expected week of child birth or when the sickness
                                                                                 leave began .
                                                                         3 . A prohibition on a woman , who is unfit for work for
                                                                                 any reason whilst on maternity leave, from taking paid
Reference for a preliminary ruling made by the Industrial                        sick leave, unless she elects to return to work and
Tribunal, Manchester, by decision of that court of                               terminate her maternity leave .
15 October 1996 in the case of M. Boyle, A. Taylor, J.
Mansley, A. Khan, S. Moores and G. Atkinson and the
              Equal Opportunities Commission                             4 . A condition limiting the time during which annual
                         ( Case C-411 /96 )                                      leave accrues to the statutory minimum period of 14
                                                                                weeks maternity leave and accordingly excluding any
                            ( 97/C 54/23 )
                                                                                other period of maternity leave .
The Court of Justice of the European Communities has
received a reference for a preliminary ruling made by a                  5 . A condition limiting the time in which pensionable
decision   of the      Industrial      Tribunal , Manchester,   of              service accrues during maternity leave to when the
15 October 1996 , in the proceedings between M. Boyle,                          woman is in receipt of contractual or statutory
A. Taylor, J. Mansley, A. Khan, S. Moores and G.                                maternity pay and accordingly excluding any period of
Atkinson and the Equal Opportunities Commission which                           unpaid maternity leave .
was lodged at the Court Registry on 23 December 1996
on the following questions :                                             (') Council Directive 75/ 1 17/EEC of 10 February 1975 on the
                                                                               approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to
In circumstances such as those of the present cases , do any                   the application of the principle of equal pay for men and
of the following matters infringe the prohibition of unfair                    women ( OJ No L 45 , 19 . 2 . 1975 , p. 19 ).
and/or unfavourable treatment of women                 because of        ( 2 ) Council Directive 76/207/EEC of 9 February 1976 on the
pregnancy, child birth , maternity and/or sickness in                          implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men
relation thereto under Community law ( in particular                           and women as regards access to employment, vocational
                                                                               training and promotion , and working conditions ( OJ No L 39 ,
Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome and/or Council                               14 . 2 . 1976 , p. 40 ).
Directives 75/ 1 17/EEC ('), and/or 76/207/EEC ( 2 ) and/or              ( ! ) Council Directive 92/85/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the
92/ 85/EEC ) (■'):                                                             introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the
                                                                               safety and health at work of pregnant workers and workers
1 . A condition that maternity pay, beyond the statutory                       who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding ( 10th
    maternity pay, is paid only if the woman states that                       individual directive within the meaning of Article 16 ( 1 ) of
    she intends to return to work and agrees to be liable                      Directive 89/39 1 /EEC ( OJ No L 348 , 28 . 11 . 1992 , p. 1 ).