Friedrich G. Barth v Bundesministerium für Wissenschaft und Forschung.
Date: 2010-04-15
17. It follows that it is for the domestic legal system of each Member State to lay down such a procedural rule, provided, first, that the rule is not less favourable than those governing similar domestic actions (principle of equivalence) and, second, that it does not render in practice impossible or excessively difficult the exercise of rights conferred by European Union law (principle of effectiveness) (see, to that effect, Case C-228/96 Aprile  [1998] ECR I-7141, paragraph 18 and case-law cited).
19. In relation to the principle of equivalence, it should be borne in mind that, according to settled case-law, this requires that all the rules applicable to actions apply without distinction to actions alleging infringement of European Union law and to similar actions alleging infringement of national law (Case C‑118/08 Transportes Urbanos y Servicios Generales  [2010] ECR I-0000, paragraph 33 and case-law cited).
20. In order to determine whether the principle of equivalence has been complied with in the case in the main proceedings, it is therefore necessary to examine whether there exists, in addition to a limitation rule, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, applicable to actions intended to ensure that the rights derived by individuals from European Union law are safeguarded under domestic law, a limitation rule applicable to domestic actions and whether, having regard to their purpose and essential characteristics, the two limitation rules may be considered similar (see, to that effect, Case C‑78/98 Preston and Others [2000] ECR I‑3201, paragraph 49, and Transportes Urbanos y Servicios Generales , paragraph 35).
28. As regards the principle of effectiveness, the Court has stated that it is compatible with European Union law to lay down reasonable time-limits for bringing proceedings in the interests of legal certainty which protects both the individual and the authorities concerned. Such time-limits are not liable to make it in practice impossible or excessively difficult to exercise the rights conferred by European Union law. In that regard, a national limitation period of three years appears to be reasonable (see, to that effect, Aprile , paragraph 19, and Case C‑445/06 Danske Slagterier  [2009] ECR I‑0000, paragraph 32 and case-law cited).
29. Therefore, in the absence of particular circumstances brought to the attention of the Court, a limitation rule such as that applied against the applicant in the main proceedings, providing for a three-year limitation period, which may be extended by nine months, cannot be regarded as being contrary to the principle of effectiveness.
30. That interpretation is not invalidated by the fact that the effects of the Köbler  judgment date back to the time at which the rule interpreted entered into force, since the effects were not temporally limited by the Court. The application of a procedural rule, such as the limitation period at issue in the main proceedings, must not be confused with a limitation on the effects of a judgment of the Court ruling on a request for interpretation of a provision of European Union law (see, to that effect, Case C‑231/96 Edis  [1998] ECR I‑4951, paragraphs 17 and 18).
33. However, it should be noted that European Union Law does not prohibit a Member State from relying on a limitation period to resist an application for a special length-of-service increment, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which, in breach of provisions of European Union law, was not granted, even if that Member State has not amended the national rules in order to render them compatible with those provisions. The situation will be different only if the conduct of the national authorities, in conjunction with the existence of a limitation period, had the effect of depriving a person of any opportunity of enforcing his rights before the national courts (see, to that effect, Aprile , paragraphs 43 and 45).
34. That is not so in the case in the main proceedings.
35. In particular, the application of a limitation period does not altogether deprive a person, such as the applicant in the main proceedings, of the right to obtain an increment which, in breach of provisions of European Union law, had not been granted to him (see, by analogy, Case 309/85 Barra and Others  [1988] ECR 355, paragraph 19, and Case C‑343/96 Dilexport  [1999] ECR I‑579, paragraph 37).
36. Moreover, it is not apparent from the file submitted to the Court that the fact that the applicant in the main proceedings was made subject to the limitation period was the result of deliberate misrepresentation by the competent national authorities (see, by analogy, Case C‑326/96 Levez  [1998] ECR I‑7835, paragraph 34). As the French Government correctly observes, the fact that there was, previously, unambiguous legislation which was contrary to Community law cannot be treated in the same way as misrepresentation, as this would render impossible in circumstances such as those of the main proceedings, contrary to what is apparent from paragraph 33 of this judgment, any application of a limitation period.
39. Similarly, it does not appear that applying a limitation period in circumstances such as those in the main proceedings constitutes, by itself, a restriction on the freedom of movement for workers within the meaning of Article 39 EC. When that limitation period is applied, the application has an impact on the possibility of obtaining the special length-of-service increment for a period entirely in the past. It follows that it is not such as to preclude or deter a worker such as the applicant in the main proceedings from exercising his rights to freedom of movement for workers, because the possibility of obtaining that increment in respect of the past is not dependent on the worker’s choosing to exercise those rights (see, to that effect, Case C‑190/98 Graf  [2000] ECR I‑493, paragraph 24).