769336
State liability
- principle of national procedural autonomy
- Conditions
- Equivalence
- Effectiveness
- Equivalence
- Key principles:
- A Member State will be liable for non-implementation of a directive in certain circumstances
- Francovich and Bonifaci v Italy: MS are obliged to compensate individuals for breaches of EC law for which they
are responsible if three conditions are satisfied: (1) The objective of the directive must include the conferring of
rights for the benefit of individuals. (2) The content of the rights must be identifiable from the directive. (3) There
must be a causal link between the breach and the damage.
- Francovich and Bonifaci v Italy: MS are obliged to compensate individuals for breaches of EC law for which they
are responsible if three conditions are satisfied: (1) The objective of the directive must include the conferring of
rights for the benefit of individuals. (2) The content of the rights must be identifiable from the directive. (3) There
must be a causal link between the breach and the damage.
- States are liable for breaches of EC law where the breach is sufficiently serious.
- Brasserie du Pecheur SA v Germany and R. v Secretary of State for Transport Ex p.
Factortame Ltd (No.3)
- Where a MS acts in a field where it has wide discretion, it will be liable to an individual for breach of EC law provided: (1) the rule of law
infringed is intended to confer rights on individuals; (2) the breach is sufficiently serious; (3) there is a direct causal link between the breach
and the damage.
- 'sufficiently serious breach’: - clarity and precision of the EU rule that has been breached - measure
discretion left by the rule to the EU institution - the breach was intentional - breach was excusable - eu
institutions contributed to the error of the MS
- 'sufficiently serious breach’: - clarity and precision of the EU rule that has been breached - measure
discretion left by the rule to the EU institution - the breach was intentional - breach was excusable - eu
institutions contributed to the error of the MS
- Where a MS acts in a field where it has wide discretion, it will be liable to an individual for breach of EC law provided: (1) the rule of law
infringed is intended to confer rights on individuals; (2) the breach is sufficiently serious; (3) there is a direct causal link between the breach
and the damage.
- Brasserie du Pecheur SA v Germany and R. v Secretary of State for Transport Ex p.
Factortame Ltd (No.3)
- Incorrect implementation of an imprecisely worded directive does not necessarily give rise to state liability
- R v Her Majesty’s Treasury, ex parte British Telecommunications pic
- The conditions in Brasserie du Pecheur/
Factortame must be satisfied. However, when
transposing the directive into national law, the
United Kingdom Government had not gravely and
manifestly disregarded the limits on the exercise
of their power. The breach was not sufficiently
serious to impose liability.
- The conditions in Brasserie du Pecheur/
Factortame must be satisfied. However, when
transposing the directive into national law, the
United Kingdom Government had not gravely and
manifestly disregarded the limits on the exercise
of their power. The breach was not sufficiently
serious to impose liability.
- R v Her Majesty’s Treasury, ex parte British Telecommunications pic
- The mere fact of infringement of EC law may be enough to establish the existence of a sufficiently serious breach.
- Dillenkofer and others v Federal Republic of Germany Hedley Lomas (Ireland) Ltd
- Dillenkofer and others v Federal Republic of Germany Hedley Lomas (Ireland) Ltd
- Further expansion in Köbler v Austria
- A Member State will be liable for non-implementation of a directive in certain circumstances
- Conditions
- apply to any EU provision
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