CELEX: C2000/176/01
Language: en
Date: 2000-06-24 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 6 April 2000 in Case C-226/98 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Østre Landsret): Birgitte Jørgensen v Foreningen af Speciallæger, Sygesikringens Forhandlingsudvalg (Directives 76/207/EEC and 86/613/EEC — Equal treatment for men and women — Self-employed activity — Downgrading of medical practices)

24.6.2000               EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                                 C 176/1
                                                                         I
                                                                   (Information)
                                                     COURT OF JUSTICE
                                                               COURT OF JUSTICE
                 JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                       gio; Registrar: H. von Holstein, Deputy Registrar, has given a
                                                                             judgment on 6 April 2000, in which it has ruled:
                         (Sixth Chamber)
                                                                             1. In order to determine whether indirect discrimination on grounds
                          of 6 April 2000                                        of sex exists in a case concerning equal treatment such as the
                                                                                 present case, Council Directive 76/207/EEC of 9 February 1976
in Case C-226/98 (reference for a preliminary ruling from                        on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for
the Østre Landsret): Birgitte Jørgensen v Foreningen af                          men and women as regards access to employment, vocational
    Speciallæger, Sygesikringens Forhandlingsudvalg (1)                          training and promotion, and working conditions and Council
                                                                                 Directive 86/613/EEC of 11 December 1986 on the application
                                                                                 of the principle of equal treatment between men and women
(Directives 76/207/EEC and 86/613/EEC — Equal treatment                          engaged in an activity, including agriculture, in a self-employed
for men and women — Self-employed activity — Downgrad-                           capacity, and on the protection of self-employed women during
                     ing of medical practices)                                   pregnancy and motherhood must be interpreted as requiring a
                                                                                 separate assessment to be made of each of the key conditions
                          (2000/C 176/01)                                        governing the exercise of a professional activity laid down in the
                                                                                 contested provisions, in so far as those key elements constitute in
                                                                                 themselves specific measures based on their own criteria of
                                                                                 application and affecting a significant number of persons
                   (Language of the case: Danish)                                belonging to a determined category.
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published       2. Budgetary considerations cannot in themselves justify discrimi-
                   in the European Court Reports)                                nation on grounds of sex. However, measures intended to ensure
                                                                                 sound management of public expenditure on specialised medical
In Case C-226/98: reference to the Court under Article 177 of                    care and to guarantee people’s access to such care may be justified
the EC Treaty (now Article 234 EC) by the Østre Landsret                         if they meet a legitimate objective of social policy, are appropriate
(Denmark), for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending                   to attain that objective and are necessary to that end.
before that court between Birgitte Jørgensen and Foreningen
af Speciallæger, Sygesikringens Forhandlingsudvalg — on the
interpretation of Council Directive 76/207/EEC of 9 February                 3. The price which a doctor may receive for goodwill when the
1976 on the implementation of the principle of equal treat-                      doctor ceases activity on reaching retirement age cannot be treated
ment for men and women as regards access to employment,                          as equivalent to the retirement pension of an employed worker.
vocational training and promotion, and working conditions
(OJ 1976 L 39, p. 40) and Council Directive 86/613/EEC of
11 December 1986 on the application of the principle of equal
treatment between men and women engaged in an activity,
including agriculture, in a self-employed capacity, and on the               (1) OJ C 278 of 5.9.1998.
protection of self-employed women during pregnancy and
motherhood (OJ 1986 L 359, p. 56) — the Court (Sixth
Chamber), composed of: J.C. Moitinho de Almeida, President
of the Chamber, C. Gulmann, J.-P. Puissochet (Rapporteur),
G. Hirsch and F. Macken, Judges; Advocate General: M.A. Sag-