Direct Effect

Question 1

Definition of direct effect?

Answer 1

Directly effective provisions of EU law give rise to rights and obligations that an individual may enforce before their national courts

Question 2

Are Treaty Articles directly effective?

Answer 2

Treaty Articles – vertical (Van Gend) and horizontal (Dafrenne v SABENA)

Question 3

Are Regulations directly effective?

Answer 3

Vertical (Leonesio) and horizontal (Antonio Munoz)

o Art 288 TFEU: are of ‘general application’, meaning they take immediate effect without need for further implementation

Question 4

Are Directives effective?

Answer 4

Vertical ONLY (Van Duyn) (Vaneetweld v Le Feyer – affirmed that Directives do not have horizontal effect)

Question 5

Conditions for an EU law to be directly effective?

Answer 5

a. “Must satisfy Van Gend criteria:
i. Sufficiently clear, precise, unconditional (leaves no discretion for implementation (i.e. you have to implement it))
ii. Apply to facts: does the directive in the problem question satisfy VG criteria?”

b. “The national government must have exceeded the time limit without the measure being properly implemented (Ratti)”
i. Apply to facts: has the date passed?

Question 6

For directives to have direct effect, the employer must be an emanation of the state. How do you decide if a body is an emanation of the state?

Answer 6

Foster v British Gas guidelines:

SD, SC, SP:

i. Carries out a public service pursuant to a statutory duty (SD);
ii. Service is under state control (SC); and,
iii. The body has special powers (SP) for carrying out its functions (e.g. to grant licenses)

Question 7

Case where Foster guidelines were implemented?

Answer 7

b. Griffin v South-West Water – the water industry was held to be an emanation of the state due to heavy Government regulation

Question 8

Do all the 3 guidelines have to be satisfied?

Answer 8

c. Perhaps doesn’t have to satisfy all 3 guidelines (CoA in NUT v St Mary’s School) but, ECJ has never ruled on how many criteria required