1 By application lodged at the Court Registry on 21 October 1991, the Commission of the European Communities brought an action under Article 169 of the EEC Treaty for a declaration that, by failing to bring into force within the time allowed the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Council Directive 88/661/EEC of 19 December 1988 on the zootechnical standards applicable to breeding animals of the porcine species (OJ 1988 L 382, p. 36), Council Directive 89/361/EEC of 30 May 1989 concerning pure-bred breeding sheep and goats (OJ 1989 L 153, p. 30), Council Directive 90/118/EEC of 5 March 1990 on the acceptance of pure-bred breeding pigs for breeding (OJ 1990 L 71, p. 34) and Council Directive 90/119/EEC of 5 March 1990 on hybrid breeding pigs for breeding (OJ 1990 L 71, p. 36), Ireland has failed to fulfil its obligations under the EEC Treaty.
2 The first paragraph of Article 13 of Directive 88/661, Article 9 of Directive 89/361, the first paragraph of Article 5 of Directive 90/118 and the first paragraph of Article 3 of Directive 90/119 provide that "Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive [by] not later than 1 January 1991. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof".
3 The Commission contends that the mandatory character of the directives required Ireland to adopt the legislative provisions necessary to transpose the four directives into national law.
4 Ireland confines itself to pointing out that the legislative provisions necessary to give effect to those directives are being prepared and that, pending the adoption of the necessary provisions, the rules contained in the directives are being observed in practice.
5 The Court has consistently held in its case-law relating to the implementation of directives that mere administrative practices, which by their nature are alterable at will by the authorities and are not given the appropriate publicity, cannot be regarded as constituting the proper fulfilment of a Member State' s obligations under the Treaty (see in particular the Court' s judgments in Case 145/82 Commission v Italy [1983] ECR 711, paragraph 10, and in Case C-236/91 Commission v Ireland [1992] ECR I-5933, paragraph 6).
6 Consequently, Ireland, which does not dispute its duty to adopt the legislative provisions necessary to transpose the directives into national law, cannot, even temporarily, evade that obligation by relying on the application of administrative practices alleged to be in accordance with the rules laid down by the directives.
7 It follows that the Commission is entitled to a declaration of infringement in the terms sought.