ECJ The limitation period laid down in Article 43 of the Statute of the Court of Justice in respect of actions brought against the Community in matters concerning non-contractual liability cannot begin to run before all the requirements governing the obligation to make good the damage are satisfied and, in particular, in cases in which liability stems from a legislative measure, before the injurious effects of the measure have been produced.
As regards the injury suffered by producers of milk and milk products who, following their entry into non-marketing or conversion undertakings under Regulation No 1078/77, were unable by operation of Regulation No 857/84 to obtain a reference quantity or, consequently, to market any quantity of milk exempt from the additional levy, the limitation period started to run on the date on which, following the expiry of their non-marketing undertaking, the producers concerned could have resumed deliveries of milk if they had not been refused a reference quantity; that is to say, in cases where the undertaking expired before the date on which Regulation No 857/84 entered into force, time started to run on that date.
Moreover, since the damage was not caused instantaneously but continued to be sustained from day to day for a certain period as a result of the maintenance in force of an illegal measure, the time-bar under Article 43 of the Statute applies, with respect to the date of the event which interrupted the limitation period, to the period more than five years prior to that date and does not affect rights which arose during subsequent periods.
So far as regards, specifically, the notion of an event which interrupts a limitation period, the waiver of the right to plead limitation – provided for by the Communication of the Council and the Commission concerning the subsequent adoption of Regulation No 2187/93 which provided for an offer of compensation to the producers concerned – does not constitute such an event. The Communication merely provided for a self-imposed restriction of the right to plead limitation. The producers were able to rely on that waiver in the circumstances referred to in Regulation No 2187/93, since it ceased to have effect at the end of the period allowed for accepting the compensation offer, from which time, in the absence of acceptance of the offer or commencement of proceedings, the institutions once again became entitled to plead limitation.
Citations:
T-222/97, [1998] EUECJ T-222/97
Links:
European, Limitation
Updated: 06 June 2022; Ref: scu.173413
