1 BY ORDER OF 11 MAY 1973, LODGED AT THE REGISTRY OF THE COURT ON 4 JUNE 1973, THE HESSISCHER VERWALTUNGSGERICHTSHOF REFERRED THREE QUESTIONS PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 177 OF THE TREATY ESTABLISHING THE EEC AS TO THE INTERPRETATION OF ARTICLE 3 - LAST INDENTATION - OF REGULATION NO 1196/71 OF THE COMMISSION OF 8 JUNE 1971 ( OJ L 125, 9 . 6 . 1971, P . 12 ) ON THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE GRANT OF CARRY-OVER PAYMENTS FOR CERTAIN CEREALS HELD IN STOCK AT THE END OF THE 1970/71 MARKETING SEASON, AND OF ARTICLES 3 AND 5 OF REGULATION NO 1182/71 OF THE COUNCIL OF 3 JUNE 1971 ( OJ L 124, 8 . 6 . 1971, P . 1 ) DETERMINING THE RULES APPLICABLE TO PERIODS, DATES AND TIME LIMITS .
2 THE FIRST QUESTION ASKS WHETHER THE EXPRESSION " DESPATCHED ON 7 AUGUST 1971 AT THE LATEST " IN ARTICLE 3 OF REGULATION NO 1196/71 FIXES A PERIOD WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 3 OF REGULATION NO 1182/71 .
3 ACCORDING TO ARTICLE 1 OF THE LAST-NAMED REGULATION, ITS PROVISIONS APPLY TO ACTS OF THE COUNCIL AND OF THE COMMISSION WHICH " HAVE BEEN OR WILL BE PASSED " PURSUANT TO THE TREATY ESTABLISHING THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OR THE EURATOM TREATY . THEREFORE, ALTHOUGH INTRODUCED SUBSEQUENTLY TO REGULATION NO 1196/71, IT DOES APPLY TO THE LATTER .
4 REGULATION NO 1182/71 LAYS DOWN GENERAL, UNIFORM RULES WITH REGARD TO PERIODS, DATES AND TIME LIMITS AND DISTINGUISHES, IN THIS RESPECT, BETWEEN PERIODS, WHICH ARE COVERED BY ARTICLES 2 AND 3, AND DATES AND TIME LIMITS, WHICH ARE COVERED BY ARTICLES 4 AND 5 . AS REGARDS PERIODS, THE REGULATION EXTENDS THOSE OF WHICH THE LAST DAY FALLS ON A SATURDAY, A SUNDAY OR A PUBLIC HOLIDAY; THIS RULE IS NOT REPRODUCED IN ARTICLES 4 AND 5 . THE CONTEXT OF ARTICLE 3 SHOWS THAT THE CONCEPT OF A PERIOD IS TO BE TAKEN TO MEAN AN INTERVAL OF TIME EXPRESSED IN HOURS, DAYS, WEEKS, MONTHS OR YEARS WITHOUT REFERENCE TO A SPECIFIED DATE OR EVENT .
5 THE APPARENT DEROGATION WITH REGARD TO PERIODS CALCULATED " RETROACTIVELY FROM A GIVEN DATE OR EVENT ", CONTAINED IN THE SECOND PARAGRAPH OF ARTICLE 3 ( 4 ), CONFIRMS THIS INTERPRETATION, SINCE SUCH PERIODS CANNOT BE EXTENDED AND ARE ACCORDINGLY EQUATED WITH DATES AND TIME LIMITS WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLES 4 AND 5 . THESE LAST PROVISIONS ARE CONCERNED WITH ACTIONS WHICH MUST BE EFFECTED AT A SPECIFIED DATE OR WITHIN A SPECIFIED TIME FOLLOWING A GIVEN DATE OR EVENT .
6 THE HYPOTHESIS CONTAINED IN ARTICLE 3 OF REGULATION NO 1196/71, WHEREBY AN ACTION MUST BE EFFECTED BEFORE A GIVEN DATE, IS NOT EXPRESSLY COVERED BY ANY OF THE PROVISIONS OF REGULATION NO 1182/71 . HOWEVER, THE REASONS FOR EXCLUDING THE EXTENSION OF PERIODS IN THE EVENT OF A PERIOD CALCULATED FROM A GIVEN DATE, ARE EQUALLY VALID IN THE EVENT OF AN ACTION HAVING TO BE EFFECTED BEFORE A GIVEN DATE . IN EITHER CASE, THE ELEMENT OF UNCERTAINTY WHICH JUSTIFIES THE EXTENSION OF PERIODS WHEN THESE EXPIRE ON A SATURDAY, A SUNDAY OR A PUBLIC HOLIDAY IS ABSENT . ACCORDINGLY, THE MENTION OF A GIVEN DATE OF EXPIRY UPON WHICH AN EVENT MUST OCCUR OR AN ACTION MUST BE EFFECTED CORRESPONDS TO THE CONCEPT OF A TIME LIMIT COVERED BY ARTICLES 4 AND 5, AND CANNOT BE CONSIDERED AS A PERIOD WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 3 .
7 MOREOVER, THIS INTERPRETATION IS CONFIRMED BY THE PURPOSE ATTRIBUTED TO THE FIXING OF A FINAL DATE, WHICH MUST BE ADHERED TO ON PAID OF EXCLUSION, WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE SYSTEM FOR GRANTING CARRY-OVER PAYMENTS FOR CEREALS HELD IN STOCK WHICH IS IMPLEMENTED IN REGULATION NO 1192/71 PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 9 OF REGULATION NO 120/67, ON THE COMMON ORGANIZATION OF THE MARKET IN CEREALS .
8 THE FIRST QUESTION HAVING BEEN ANSWERED IN THE NEGATIVE, THE SECOND QUESTION DOES NOT REQUIRE TO BE CONSIDERED .
9 THE THIRD QUESTION ASKS WHETHER THE EXPRESSION " DESPATCHED ON 7 AUGUST 1971 AT THE LATEST " IS A DATE WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 5 OF REGULATION NO 1182/71 .
10 ARTICLE 5 ( 1 ) AND ( 2 ), FIRST PARAGRAPH, COVERS ACTIONS WHICH MUST BE EFFECTED AT A GIVEN MOMENT OR AT A GIVEN DATE . THIS IS NOT THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 3 OF REGULATION NO 1196/71 . AS STATED ABOVE, THIS PROVISION IS A LEGAL CONSTRUCTION WHICH, ALTHOUGH NOT EXPRESSLY COVERED BY REGULATION NO 1182/71, CORRESPONDS TO THE CONCEPT OF A TIME LIMIT WITHIN THE MEANING OF THAT REGULATION .