ECJ 1. As regards the division of jurisdiction between national courts and the court of justice under article 177 of the treaty the national court, which is alone in having a direct knowledge of the facts of the case and of the arguments put forward by the parties, and which has to give judgment in the case, is in the best position to appreciate, with full knowledge of the matter before it, the relevance of the questions of law raised by the dispute before it and the necessity for a preliminary ruling so as to enable it to give judgement.
In the event of questions ‘ having been improperly formulated or going beyond the scope of the powers conferred on the court of justice by article 177, the court is free to extract from all the factors provided by the national court and in particular from the statement of grounds contained in the reference, the elements of community law which, having regard to the subject-matter of the dispute, require an interpretation or, as the case may be, an assessment of validity.
2. It follows from article 38(2) of the EEC Treaty that the provisions of the Treaty relating to the common agricultural policy have precedence, in case of any discrepancy, over the rules relating to the establishment of the common market. The specific provisions creating a common organization of the market have precedence in the sector in question over the system laid down in article 37 in favour of state monopolies of a commercial character.
3. Once the community has, pursuant to article 40 of the treaty, legislated for the establishment of the common organization of the market in a given sector, member states are under an obligation to refrain from taking any measure which might undermine or create exceptions to it.
4. The common organizations of the agricultural markets are based on the concept of the open market to which every producer has free access and the functioning of which is regulated solely by the instruments provided for by those organizations.
Any provisions or national practices which might alter the pattern of imports or exports or influence the formation of market prices by preventing producers from buying and selling freely within the state in which they are established, or in any other member state, in conditions laid down by community rules and from taking advantage directly of intervention measures or any other measures for regulating the market laid down by the common organization are incompatible with the principles of such organization.
5. The provisions of articles 30 and 34 of the eec treaty and of regulation no 2759/75 are directly applicable and confer on individuals rights which the courts of member states must protect. As regards the new member states, the effects of those provisions applied, according to the terms of the act of accession and in particular of articles 2, 42 and 60(1) thereof, as from 1 February 1973.
Citations:
R-83/78, [1978] EUECJ R-83/78, [1978] NI 73
Links:
European, Agriculture
Updated: 21 June 2022; Ref: scu.214774