Europa It is essential that each member state should implement directives in a way which fully meets the requirements of clarity and certainty in legal situations which directives seek for the benefit of traders established in other member states. Mere administrative practices, which by their nature can be changed as and when the authorities please and which are not publicized widely enough, cannot be regarded as a proper fulfilment of the obligation imposed by article 109 of the EEC Treaty on member states to which the directives are addressed. The effect of the third paragraph of article 189 of the EEC Treaty is that community directives must be implemented by appropriate im- plementing measures carried out by the member states. Only in specific circumstances, in particular where a member state has failed to take the implementing measures required or has adopted measures which do not conform to a directive, has the court of justice recognized the right of persons affected thereby to rely in law on a directive as against a defaulting member state. This minimum guarantee arising from the binding nature of the obligation imposed on the member states by the effect of the directives under the third paragraph of article 189 cannot justify a member state’s absolving itself from taking in due time implementing measures sufficient to meet the purpose of each directive. A member state cannot rely upon domestic difficulties or provisions of its national legal system, even its constitutional system, for the purpose of justifying a failure to comply with obligations and time-limits contained in community directives.
Citations:
C-102/79, [1981] 1 CMLR 282, [1980] EUECJ C-102/79
Links:
Cited by:
Cited – Pickstone v Freemans Plc HL 30-Jun-1988
The claimant sought equal pay with other, male, warehouse operatives who were doing work of equal value but for more money. The Court of Appeal had held that since other men were also employed on the same terms both as to pay and work, her claim . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
European
Updated: 21 May 2022; Ref: scu.132884