Daniele Annibaldi v Sindaco del Comune di Guidonia and Presidente Regione Lazio.
Date: 1997-12-18
12 It should be observed at the outset that, as the Court has consistently held (see, in particular, Opinion 2/94 of 28 March 1996 [1996] ECR I-1759, paragraph 33), fundamental rights form an integral part of the general principles of law, the observance of which it ensures. For that purpose, the Court draws inspiration from the constitutional traditions common to the Member States and from the guidelines supplied by international treaties for the protection of human rights on which the Member States have collaborated or of which they are signatories.  The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 4 November 1950 (`the Convention') has special significance in that respect.  It follows that the Community cannot accept measures which are incompatible with observance of the human rights thus recognized and guaranteed (see, in particular, Case C-260/89 ERT [1991] ECR I-2925, paragraph 41).
13 It is also apparent from the Court's case-law (see, in particular, Case C-299/95 Kremzow v Austrian State [1997] ECR I-2629, paragraph 15) that, where national legislation falls within the scope of Community law, the Court, in a reference for a preliminary ruling, must give the national court all the guidance as to interpretation necessary to enable it to assess the compatibility of that legislation with the fundamental rights - as laid down in particular in the Convention - whose observance the Court ensures. However, the Court has no such jurisdiction with regard to national legislation lying outside the scope of Community law.
15 First of all, Article 2 of the EC Treaty defines the task of the Community and its aims are set out in Article 3 (see, in particular, Case C-177/94 Perfili [1996] ECR I-161, paragraph 10).  Under Article 3(e) and (k) of the EC Treaty, the activities of the Community are to include the implementation of common policies in the spheres of agriculture and the environment.
18 Under the second subparagraph of Article 40(3) of the Treaty, the common organization of the agricultural markets to be established in the context of the common agricultural policy must `exclude any discrimination between producers or consumers within the Community'.  That prohibition of discrimination is merely a specific enunciation of the general principle of equality which is one of the fundamental principles of Community law (see, in particular, Joined Cases 201/85 and 202/85 Klensch and Others v Secrétaire d'État [1986] ECR 3477, paragraph 9, and Case C-2/92 The Queen v Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food ex parte Bostock [1994] ECR I-955, paragraph 23).
19 In particular, Article 40(3) of the Treaty covers all measures relating to the common organization of the agricultural markets, irrespective of the authority which lays them down.  Consequently, it is also binding on the Member States when they are implementing the said common organization (see, in particular, Klensch and Others, cited above, paragraph 8, and Case C-351/92 Graff v Hauptzollamt Köln-Rheinau [1994] ECR I-3361, paragraph 18).
20 Furthermore, the Court has consistently held (see Joined Cases 141/81, 142/81 and 143/81 Holdijk and Others [1982] ECR 1299, paragraph 12, and Case 118/86 Openbaar Ministerie v Nertsvoederfabriek Nederland [1987] ECR 3883, paragraph 12) that the establishment of a common organization of the agricultural markets pursuant to Article 40 of the Treaty does not have the effect of exempting agricultural producers from any national provisions intended to attain objectives other than those covered by the common organization, even though such provisions may, by affecting the conditions of production, have an impact on the volume or the cost of national production and therefore on the operation of the common market in the sector concerned. The prohibition of any discrimination between producers in the Community, laid down in the second subparagraph of Article 40(3) of the Treaty, refers to the objectives pursued by the common organization and not to the various conditions of production resulting from national rules which are general in character and pursue other objectives (see Holdijk and Others, cited above, paragraph 12).
21 Against that background, it is clear, first of all, that there is nothing in the present case to suggest that the Regional Law was intended to implement a provision of Community law either in the sphere of agriculture or in that of the environment or culture.
22 Next, even if the Regional Law be capable of affecting indirectly the operation of a common organization of the agricultural markets, it is not in dispute that, the park having been created to protect and enhance the value of the environment and the cultural heritage of the area concerned, the Regional Law pursues objectives other than those covered by the common agricultural policy, or that the Law itself is general in character.
23 Finally, given the absence of specific Community rules on expropriation and the fact that the measures relating to the common organization of the agricultural markets have no effect on systems of agricultural property ownership, it follows from the wording of Article 222 of the Treaty that the Regional Law concerns an area which falls within the purview of the Member States.