Commission of the European Communities v Federal Republic of Germany. (Actions against Member States for failure to fulfil obligations) [1993] EUECJ C-345/92 (23 March 1993)

Judgment 1 By application lodged at the Court Registry on 19 August 1992, the Commission of the European Communities brought an action under Article 169 of the EEC Treaty for a declaration that, by failing to adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the judgment of the Court of Justice of 17 September 1987 in Case 412/85 Commission v Germany [1987] ECR 3503, and hence necessary for the full implementation of Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds, the Federal Republic of Germany has failed to fulfil its obligations under the Treaty. 2 In that judgment the Court declared that, by authorizing in Paragraph 22(3) of the Bundesnaturschutzgesetz (Federal Law on the protection of nature) derogations from the measures for the protection of birds provided for by Directive 79/409, mentioned above, the Federal Republic of Germany had failed to fulfil its obligations under the Treaty. 3 Since the Commission did not receive notification of the measures which should have been taken by the German authorities in order to ensure compliance with the abovementioned judgment, it initiated the procedure provided for by Article 169 of the Treaty, at the end of which it brought the present proceedings for failure to fulfil obligations. 4 Reference is made to the Report of the Judge-Rapporteur for a fuller account of the facts of the case, the procedure and the submissions and arguments of the parties, which are mentioned or discussed hereinafter only in so far as is necessary for the reasoning of the Court. 5 The Federal Republic of Germany states that the provisions required for compliance with the Court' s judgment should soon be approved by the legislative authorities. 6 It must be pointed out that, even if Article 171 of the Treaty does not specify the period within which a judgment must be complied with, the common interest attaching to the immediate and uniform application of Community law requires that the process of complying with a judgment be initiated at once and completed as soon as possible (see the judgment in Case 169/87 Commission v France [1988] ECR 4093, paragraph 14). 7 The Commission' s claim for a declaration of failure to fulfil obligations must therefore be upheld. Costs 8 Under Article 69(2) of the Rules of Procedure, the unsuccessful party is to be ordered to pay the costs. Since the Federal Republic of Germany has been unsuccessful, it must be ordered to pay the costs. On those grounds, THE COURT hereby: 1. Declares that, by failing to adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the judgment of the Court of Justice of 17 September 1987 in Case 412/85, and hence necessary for the full implementation of Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds, the Federal Republic of Germany has failed to fulfil its obligations under the EEC Treaty; 2. Orders the Federal Republic of Germany to pay the costs. © European Communities, 2001 All rights reserved BAILII: Copyright Policy | Disclaimers | Privacy Policy | Feedback | Donate to BAILII