Wherever the provisions of a directive appear, as far as their subject-matter is concerned, to be unconditional and sufficiently precise, those provisions may be relied upon by an individual against the state where that state fails to implement the directive in national law by the end of the period prescribed or where it fails to implement the directive correctly.
However, according to article 189 of the EEC Treaty the binding nature of a directive, which constitutes the basis for the possibility of relying on the directive before a national court, exists only in relation to ‘each member state to which it is addressed.’
It follows that a directive may not of itself impose obligations on an individual and that a provision of a directive may not be relied upon as such against such a person before a national court.
In applying national law and in particular the provisions of a national law specifically introduced in order to implement the directive, national courts are required to interpret their national law in the light of the wording and the purposes of the directive in order to achieve the result referred to in the third paragraph of article 189 of the treaty.
However, that obligation is limited by the general principles of law which form part of community law and in particular the principles of legal certainty and non-retroactivity. Therefore a directive cannot, of itself and independently of a national law adoped by a member state for its implementation, have the effect of determining or aggravating the liability in criminal law of persons who act in contravention of the provisions of that directive.
Due P
[1989] 1 CEC 118, [1989] 2 CMLR 18, C-80/86, R-80/86, [1987] EUECJ R-80/86, [1987] ECR 3969
Bailii
European
Cited by:
Cited – It’s A Wrap (UK) Ltd v Gula and Another CA 11-May-2006
The company was said to have paid dividends unlawfully, in that the directors who were the shareholders had paid themselves dividends knowing that the company had not earned enough to pay them.
Held: Where shareholders had knowledge of the . .
Cited – British Airways Plc v Williams and Others SC 17-Oct-2012
The claimants, airline pilots, and the company disputed the application of the 1998 Regulations to their employment. They sought pay for their annual leave made up of three elements: a proportionate part of the fixed annual sum paid for their . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
European
Leading Case
Updated: 31 October 2021; Ref: scu.215526