Epifanio Viscido (C-52/97), Mauro Scandella and Others (C-53/97) and Massimiliano Terragnolo and Others (C-54/97) v Ente Poste Italiane.

• Jurisdiction: European Union
• Celex Number: 61997CC0052
• ECLI: ECLI:EU:C:1998:78
• Date: 19 February 1998
• Court: Court of Justice (European Union)
• Procedure Type: Reference for a preliminary ruling
• Docket Number: C-53/97,C-54/97,C-52/97,

Important legal notice

|

61997C0052

Opinion of Mr Advocate General Jacobs delivered on 19 February 1998. - Epifanio Viscido (C-52/97), Mauro Scandella and Others (C-53/97) and Massimiliano Terragnolo and Others (C-54/97) v Ente Poste Italiane. - References for a preliminary ruling: Pretura circondariale di Trento - Italy. - Aid granted by Member States - Meaning - National law providing that only one public utility is relieved of the obligation of observing a rule of general application relating to fixed-term employment contracts. - Joined cases C-52/97, C-53/97 and C-54/97.

European Court reports 1998 Page I-02629

Opinion of the Advocate-General

1 The issue raised by the Pretura Circondariale di Trento (Magistrate's Court, Trento) is whether a national rule providing for the recruitment of staff by the Italian Post Office under fixed-term contracts, by way of derogation from the general rule of Italian law that employment contracts should be of indeterminate duration, constitutes State aid notifiable under the last sentence of Article 93(3) of the Treaty.

2 Under Italian law, employment under fixed-term contracts is permitted only in a number of specified exceptional cases. Article 1 of Law No 230 of 18 April 1962 provides that, subject to certain exceptions specified in the Law, (1) an employment contract is to be considered to be of indeterminate duration.

3 However, Article 9(21) of Decree-Law No 510 of 1 October 1996, converted into Law No 608 of 28 November 1996, laying down urgent measures in relation to work of social utility, provides:

`Workers employed from 1 December 1994 under a fixed-term contract by Poste Italiane shall have a right of priority, in accordance with the contractual provisions and those of a specific agreement with the trade unions, in the event of staff being taken on for an indeterminate period by Poste Italiane for posts of the same level and/or involving the same duties until 31 December 1996; the workers concerned must give notice of their wish to exercise that right by 30 November 1996. Recruitment of staff under fixed-term contracts of employment by Poste Italiane, from the date on which it was set up until 30 June 1997, shall not give rise to employment relationships of indeterminate duration and shall lapse upon the expiry date of each contract.'

4 The above provision is linked to the transformation of the Italian Post and Telecommunications Administration into a public undertaking with effect from 1 January 1994. Under Article 6(2) of Law No 71/1994 the staff of the Post and Telecommunications Administration became employees of Poste Italiane under private-law contracts. According to the order for reference, the purpose of the second sentence of Article 9(21) was to lay down a transitional period at the end of which...