Alexander Dory v Bundesrepublik Deutschland.
Date: 2003-03-11
13.  Under Paragraph 3(1) of that law,   "[t]he obligation to perform military service is satisfied by military service or, in the case referred to in Paragraph 1 of the Kriegsdienstverweigerungsgesetz (Law on refusal to perform war service) of 28 February 1983 (BGBl. I, p. 203), by civilian service ..."  .
The main proceedings and the question referred for a preliminary ruling
30.  Measures taken by the Member States in this domain are not excluded in their entirety from the application of Community law solely because they are taken in the interests of public security or national defence.
31.  As the Court has already held, the only articles in which the Treaty provides for derogations applicable in situations which may affect public security are Articles 30 EC, 39 EC, 46 EC, 58 EC, 64 EC, 296 EC and 297 EC, which deal with exceptional and clearly defined cases. It cannot be inferred from those articles that the Treaty contains an inherent general exception excluding all measures taken for reasons of public security from the scope of Community law. To recognise the existence of such an exception, regardless of the specific requirements laid down by the Treaty, might impair the binding nature of Community law and its uniform application (see, to that effect, Case 222/84   Johnston   [1986] ECR 1651, paragraph 26,   Sirdar  , paragraph 16, and   Kreil  , paragraph 16).
32.  The concept of public security, within the meaning of the Treaty articles cited in the preceding paragraph, covers both a Member State's internal security, as in the   Johnston   case, and its external security, as in the   Sirdar   case (see, to that effect, Case C-367/89   Richardt and   "Les Accessoires Scientifiques"   [1991] ECR I-4621, paragraph 22, Case C-83/94   Leifer and Others   [1995] ECR I-3231, paragraph 26,   Sirdar  , paragraph 17, and   Kreil  , paragraph 17).
33.  Furthermore, some of the derogations provided for by the Treaty concern only the rules relating to free movement of persons, goods, capital and services, and not the social provisions of the Treaty, of which the principle of equal treatment for men and women forms part. In accordance with settled case-law, that principle is of general application and Directive 76/207 applies to employment in the public service (see, to that effect, Case 248/83   Commission   v   Germany   [1985] ECR 1459, paragraph 16, Case C-1/95   Gerster   [1997] ECR I-5253, paragraph 18,   Sirdar  , paragraph 18, and   Kreil  , paragraph 18).
34.  Thus the Court held that Directive 76/207 was applicable to access to posts in the armed forces and that it was for the Court to verify whether the measures taken by the national authorities, in the exercise of their recognised discretion, did in fact have the purpose of guaranteeing public security and whether they were appropriate and necessary to achieve that aim (see   Sirdar  , paragraph 28, and   Kreil  , paragraph 25).
36.  It is for the Member States, which have to adopt appropriate measures to ensure their internal and external security, to take decisions on the organisation of their armed forces, as the Court observed in   Sirdar  , paragraph 15, and   Kreil  , paragraph 15.