The Queen v Secretary of State for Transport, ex parte: Factortame Ltd and others.

• Jurisdiction: European Union
• Celex Number: 61989CJ0213
• ECLI: ECLI:EU:C:1990:257
• Date: 19 June 1990
• Docket Number: C-213/89
• Court: Court of Justice (European Union)
• Procedure Type: Reference for a preliminary ruling

Avis juridique important

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61989J0213

Judgment of the Court of 19 June 1990. - The Queen v Secretary of State for Transport, ex parte: Factortame Ltd and others. - Reference for a preliminary ruling: House of Lords - United Kingdom. - Rights derived from provisions of Community law - Protection by national courts - Power of national courts to grant interim relief when a reference is made for a preliminary ruling. - Case C-213/89.

European Court reports 1990 Page I-02433
Swedish special edition Page 00435
Finnish special edition Page 00453

Summary
Parties
Grounds
Decision on costs
Operative part

Keywords

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Community law - Direct effect - Primacy - Proceedings brought before a national court in order to penalize an infringement of Community law attributable to a provision of national law - Infringement not yet established - Application for interim relief - Existence of a national rule prohibiting that application from being granted - Duties and powers of the court seised

( EEC Treaty, Arts 5 and 177 )

Summary

It is for the national courts, in application of the principle of cooperation laid down in Article 5 of the EEC Treaty, to ensure the legal protection which persons derive from the direct effect of provisions of Community law .

Any provision of a national legal system and any legislative, administrative or judicial practice which might impair the effectiveness of Community law by withholding from the national court having jurisdiction to apply such law the power to do everything necessary at the moment of its application to set aside national legislative provisions which might prevent, even temporarily, Community rules from having full force and effect are incompatible with the requirements inherent in the very nature of Community law .

The full effectiveness of Community law would be just as much impaired if a rule of national law could prevent a court seised of a dispute governed by Community law from granting interim relief in order to ensure the full effectiveness of the judgment to be given on the existence of the rights claimed under Community law . It follows that a court which in those circumstances would grant interim relief, if it were not for a rule of national law, is obliged to set aside that rule .

That interpretation is reinforced by the system established by Article 177 of the EEC Treaty whose effectiveness would be impaired if a national court, having stayed proceedings pending the reply by the Court of Justice to the question referred to it for a preliminary ruling, were not able to grant interim relief until it delivered its judgment following the reply given by the Court of Justice .

Parties

In Case C-213/89

REFERENCE to the Court under Article 177 of the EEC Treaty by the House of Lords for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that court in the case of

The Queen

v

Secretary of State for Transport,

ex parte : Factortame Ltd and Others,

on the interpretation of Community law with regard to the extent of the power of national courts to grant interim relief where rights claimed under Community law are at issue,

THE COURT

composed of : O . Due, President, Sir Gordon Slynn, C . N . Kakouris, F . A . Schockweiler, M . Zuleeg ( Presidents of Chambers ), G . F . Mancini, R . Joliet, J . C . Moitinho de Almeida, G . C . Rodríguez Iglesias, F . Grévisse and M . Diez de Velasco, Judges,

Advocate General : G . Tesauro

Registrar : H . A . Ruehl, Principal Administrator

after considering the written observations submitted on behalf of

the United Kingdom, by T . J . G . Pratt, Principal Assistant Treasury Solicitor, acting as Agent, assisted by Sir Nicholas Lyell, QC, Solicitor-General, Mr Christopher Bellamy, QC, and Mr Christopher Vajda, barrister,

Ireland, by Louis J . Dockery, Chief State Solicitor, acting as Agent, assisted by James O' Reilly, SC,

Factortame Ltd and Others, by David Vaughan QC, Gerald Barling, barrister, David Anderson, barrister, and Stephen Swabey, solicitor, of Thomas Cooper & Stibbard,

the Commission, by Mr Goetz zur Hausen, Legal Adviser, and Peter Oliver, a member of its Legal Department, acting as Agents,

having regard to the Report for the Hearing,

after hearing the oral argument presented at the hearing on 5 April 1990 by the...