CELEX: C2002/323/17
Language: en
Date: 2002-12-21 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 14 November 2002 in Case C-316/00: Commission of the European Communities v Ireland (Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Directive 80/778/EEC — Quality of water intended for human consumption — Incomplete implementation)

21.12.2002                EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                          C 323/15
1.     The first paragraph of Article 1 of the Convention of                 assisted by E. Fitzsimons, and E. Galligan, BL): Application for
       27 September 1968 on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of              a declaration that:
       Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters, as amended by
       the Convention of 9 October 1978 on the Accession of the
       Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom of
       Great Britain and Northern Ireland and by the Convention of
       25 October 1982 on the Accession of the Hellenic Republic,            —     by failing to ensure compliance with microbiological
       must be interpreted as meaning that the concept of ‘civil matters’          parameters 57 (total coliforms) and 58 (faecal coliforms)
       encompasses an action under a right of recourse whereby a                   of Annex I to Council Directive 80/778/EEC of 15 July
       public body seeks from a person governed by private law recovery            1980 relating to the quality of water intended for human
       of sums paid by it by way of social assistance to the divorced              consumption (OJ 1980 L 229, p. 11) in respect of certain
       spouse and the child of that person, provided that the basis and            public water supplies and certain group water supplies
       the detailed rules relating to the bringing of that action are              (other than those providing less than 10 m3 a day as an
       governed by the rules of the ordinary law in regard to                      average or serving fewer than 50 persons, unless the
       maintenance obligations. Where the action under a right of                  water is supplied as part of a commercial or public
       recourse is founded on provisions by which the legislature                  activity) identified in official drinking water reports and
       conferred on the public body a prerogative of its own, that                 in correspondence concerning Ballycroy (Ireland), and
       action cannot be regarded as being brought in ‘civil matters’.
2.     Point 3 of the second paragraph of Article 1 of the Brussels
       Convention must be interpreted as meaning that the concept of
       ‘social security’ does not encompass the action under a right of      —     by failing, in its implementing legislation, to reflect the
       recourse by which a public body seeks from a person governed                binding character of the requirements of Annex I to the
       by private law recovery in accordance with the rules of the                 directive in relation to group water supplies, Ireland has
       ordinary law of sums paid by it by way of social assistance to              failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles 7(6), 18 and
       the divorced spouse and the child of that person.                           19 of that directive and under the EC Treaty,
( 1) OJ C 259 of 9.9.2000.
                                                                             the Court (Sixth Chamber), composed of: J.-P. Puissochet,
                                                                             President of the Chamber, R. Schintgen, V. Skouris, F. Macken
                                                                             and J. N. Cunha Rodrigues (Rapporteur), Judges; A. Tizzano,
                                                                             Advocate General; H. von Holstein, Deputy Registrar, has
                                                                             given a judgment on 14 November 2002, in which it:
                   JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                            (Sixth Chamber)
                                                                             1.    Declares that:
                         of 14 November 2002
in Case C-316/00: Commission of the European Communi-
                             ties v Ireland ( 1)                                   —     by failing to ensure compliance with microbiological
                                                                                         parameters 57 (total coliforms) and 58 (faecal coliforms)
                                                                                         of Annex I to Council Directive 80/778/EEC of 15 July
(Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations —                                   1980 relating to the quality of water intended for human
Directive 80/778/EEC — Quality of water intended for                                     consumption in respect of certain public water supplies
      human consumption — Incomplete implementation)                                     and certain group water supplies (other than those
                                                                                         providing less than 10 m 3 a day as an average or serving
                                                                                         fewer than 50 persons, unless the water is supplied as
                            (2002/C 323/17)                                              part of a commercial or public activity) identified in
                                                                                         official drinking water reports and in correspondence
                                                                                         concerning Ballycroy, Ireland, and
                      (Language of the case: English)
In Case C-316/00, Commission of the European Communities                           —     by failing, in its implementing legislation, to reflect the
(Agent: R. B. Wainwright) v Ireland (Agent: D. J. O’Hagan,                               binding character of the requirements of Annex I to the
 ---pagebreak--- C 323/16                 EN                        Official Journal of the European Communities                                        21.12.2002
            directive in relation to group water supplies, Ireland has                         JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
            failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles 7(6), 18 and
            19 of that directive;
2.    Orders Ireland to pay the costs.                                                                  (Sixth Chamber)
( 1) OJ C 302 of 21.10.2002.
                                                                                                      of 7 November 2002
                                                                              in Case C-333/00 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from
                                                                                  the Tarkastuslautakunta): Eila Päivikki Maaheimo ( 1)
                  JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                                                                              (Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 — Family benefits — Home
                        of 5 November 2002
                                                                                 child-care allowance — Residence condition for children)
in Case C-325/00: Commission of the European Communi-
             ties v Federal Republic of Germany (1)
                                                                                                         (2002/C 323/19)
(Free movement of goods — Measures having equivalent
               effect — Label of origin and quality)
                                                                                                  (Language of the case: Finnish)
                            (2002/C 323/18)
                    (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-325/00, Commission of the European Communities
(Agents: J. C. Schieferer and C. Schmidt) v Federal Republic of               In Case C-333/00: Reference to the Court under Article 234
Germany (Agent: W.-D. Plessing, acting as Agent, assisted by                  EC by the Tarkastuslautakunta (Finland) for a preliminary
M. Loschelder): Application for a declaration that by awarding                ruling in the proceedings pending before that court by Eila
the quality label ‘Markenqualität aus deutschen Landen’ (quality              Päivikki Maaheimo, on the interpretation of Articles 4(1)(h),
label for produce made in Germany) to finished products of a                  10(a), 73 and 75 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of
certain quality produced in Germany, the Federal Republic of                  14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to
Germany has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 30 of              employed persons, to self-employed persons and to members
the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 28 EC), the                      of their families moving within the Community, as amended
Court, composed of: G. C. Rodríguez Iglesias, President,                      and updated by Council Regulation (EC) No 118/97 of
J.-P. Puissochet and M. Wathelet (Presidents of Chambers),                    2 December 1996 (OJ 1997 L 28, p. 1), the Court (Sixth
C. Gulmann (Rapporteur), A. La Pergola, P. Jann, V. Skouris,                  Chamber), composed of: R. Schintgen, President of the Second
F. Macken, N. Colneric, S. von Bahr and J. N. Cunha Rodrigues,                Chamber, acting for the President of the Sixth Chamber,
Judges; F. G. Jacobs, Advocate General; R. Grass, Registrar, has              V. Skouris, F. Macken, N. Colneric (Rapporteur) and J. N. Cunha
given a judgment on 5 November 2002, in which it:                             Rodrigues, Judges; F. G. Jacobs, Advocate General; L. Hewlett,
                                                                              Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on
                                                                              7 November 2002, in which it has ruled:
1.    Declares that, by awarding the quality label ‘Marenqualität aus
      deutschen Landen’ (quality label for produce made in Germany)
      to finished products of a certain quality made in Germany, the
      Federal Republic of Germany has failed to fulfil its obligations        1.    A benefit such as the home child-care allowance provided for by
      under Article 30 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment,                      the Laki lasten kotihoidon ja yksityisen hoidon tuesta (Law
      Article 28 EC);                                                               No 1128/96 on home child-care allowance and private child-
                                                                                    care allowance) is a family benefit within the meaning of
2.    Orders the Federal Republic of Germany to pay the costs.                      Article 4(1)(h) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of
                                                                                    14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to
                                                                                    employed persons, to self-employed persons and to members of
( 1) OJ C 316 of 4.11.2000.                                                         their families moving within the Community, as amended and
                                                                                    updated by Council Regulation (EC) No 118/97 of 2 December
                                                                                    1996.