Rights and Remedies in National Courts Flashcards
What were the two implications of Van Gend en Loos?
Brought up claims about the quality of EU law - Court of Justice claimed that EU law formed a new legal order with its own powerful authority and consequently gave rise to rise that can be invoked in national courts by individuals
What are the justifications of Van Gend en Loos?
the establishment of a new legal order: the vehicle for the expression of this order is the development of a system of judicially protected rights
What was the issue arising after the Van Gend En Loos case?
Judgment was very narrow and did not state that all Treaty provisions can be invoked by individuals
Only indicated with certainty that Article 28TFEU could
Why was the case of Defrenne v Sabena important?
Increased the scope of direct effect brought by individuals
Relaxed the requirement for legal clarity
Brought about direct effect against third party (horizontal direct effect)
What is the ethos of the Lisbon Treaty?
to give rise to sufficient remedies to secure the protection of the rights conferred in the Treaty
What is the problem of full protection of EU rights?
It would require a pan-union system of remedy as well as a pan-union enforcement machinery to secure
Union would have to establish its own system of administrative justice - not only impractical but would lead the EU into difficult/senstive questions about the scale and type of interest to be protected and compensated (e.g. how long can a claim stand open, what types of loss can be compensated, what is the level of responsibility…)
What happened in the case of Rewe?
Rewe was a trader who claimed a refund for charges unlawfully levied by the German authorities for health inspections on fruit and vegetables
German authorities claimed that the limitation period had passed
Requirement in place that national procedures and remedies should not make it practically impossible to exercise EU rights which establishes a minimum standard of protection
What happened in the case of Unibet?
Swedish authorities obtained injunctions and initiated criminal proceedings against parties providing advertising space to Unibet (British internet gambling company) whose activities were contrary to Swedish law
Unibet brought an action for a declaration that the Swedish law had violated Article 56 TFEU (the right to provide services in another Member State)
In Swedish law, there was no possibility for self-standing action for a declaration that a Swedish statute is illegal
Swedish law provided for the possibility for Unibet to sue the authorities for damages and to seek an exception from the authorities from gambling restrictions
Adequate judicial review proceedings
What were the questions considered in DEB?
The extent that legal aid is available for those who wish to litigate their EU rights
Claimed that Germany government violated the principle of effective judicial protection by refusing the paper company legal aid (basis that legal aid was not offered to companies and there was insufficient public interest)
Principle of effective judicial protection (as established in Article 47 of Charter) not impossible for any legal person to rely on the principle and multiple aspects must be taken into consideration
What must be taken into consideration for the granting of legal aid?
According to Article 47 of the Charter, it’s up to the national courts to look at whether the applicants pursue a legitimate aim, whether there is reasonable relationship of proportionality between the means employed and the legitimate aim which it sought to achieve
Subject matter should be taken into consideration: prospect of success, importance for the applicant, complexity of relevant law and costs of proceedings
What are the four circumstances under EU law that require particular remedies to be provided in national courts of member states?
- principle of Member state liability suffered as a result of the latter’s breach of EU law
- Repayment of charges or taxes levied in breach of directly effective EU law
- Damages and repayments for breaches of EU competition law
- Interim relief where a national court wishes to make a preliminary reference to the Court of Justice
What was the reasoning employed in San Giorgio?
the entitlement to the repayment of charges levied contrary to EU law was a consequence of the rights conferred by EU law
What cases explain the grant of interim relief?
Factortame and Aziz
What was the judgment in Factortame?
Interim relief must be granted where it is necessary to meet the full effectiveness of judgments on EU law
In this case, it was required partly to secure its own prerogatives
How did the case of Aziz develop the judgment in Factortame?
While in Factortame, the interim relief was partially granted to suit the Unions own agenda, Aziz established a duty on national courts to grant interim relief even where there is no reference where a failure to do so would imperil the full effectiveness of the final decision
