Conseil national de l'ordre des architectes v Nicolas Dreessen.
| Jurisdiction | European Union |
| ECLI | ECLI:EU:C:2001:285 |
| Date | 17 May 2001 |
| Celex Number | 62000CC0031 |
| Court | Court of Justice (European Union) |
| Procedure Type | Reference for a preliminary ruling |
| Docket Number | C-31/00 |
Opinion of Mr Advocate General Léger delivered on 17 May 2001. - Conseil national de l'ordre des architectes v Nicolas Dreessen. - Reference for a preliminary ruling: Cour de cassation - Belgium. - Reference for a preliminary ruling - Articles 10 EC and 43 EC - National legislation restricting access to the profession of architect to the possession of a diploma or professional qualification - Community national holding a diploma not listed in Directive 85/384/EEC - Obligation on the host Member State when presented with an application to practise the profession of architect on its territory to make a comparison between the specialised knowledge and abilities certified by the diploma and the experience acquired, and the qualifications required by its national legislation. - Case C-31/00.
European Court reports 2002 Page I-00663
1. The present reference for a preliminary ruling concerns the implementation of freedom of establishment for architects.
2. At the heart of the question referred to the Court for interpretation is Council Directive 85/384/EEC of 10 June 1985 on the mutual recognition of diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications in architecture, including measures to facilitate the effective exercise of the right of establishment and freedom to provide services (the Directive).
I - Legal background
A - Community law
3. Article 1 of the Directive provides that:
1. This Directive shall apply to activities in the field of architecture.
2. For the purposes of this Directive, activities in the field of architecture shall be those activities usually pursued under the professional title of architect.
4. The purpose of the Directive is not to bring about the harmonisation of national laws in the field of architecture. It does not define what an architect is. Nor does it lay down criteria for defining the profession.
5. The Directive sets out two regimes.
For diplomas obtained after the Directive entered into force, Chapter II sets out a definitive regime under which the Member States are required to recognise diplomas awarded by other Member States fulfilling the requirements as to content and duration of education and training, as set out in Articles 3 and 4. Each Member State must communicate and keep up to date the list of diplomas meeting these criteria, together with the establishments and authorities awarding them.
The Directive also lays down a transitional regime for diplomas obtained before the notification of the Directive, or for students commencing their training during the 1987/1988 academic year at the latest. The Directive sets out a mechanism for the automatic recognition of diplomas, which are specifically listed.
6. Article 11 of the Directive lists the diplomas, certificates and other qualifications awarded in Germany that must be recognised by the other Member States.
7. Article 13 of the Directive states that the test of formal qualifications referred to in Article 11(a), fourth indent ... shall comprise an appraisal of plans drawn up and carried out by the person concerned while actually pursuing the activities referred to in Article 1 for not less than six years.
B - Belgian law
8. Article 1 of the Law of 20 February 1939, on the protection of the qualification and profession of architect, provides:
1. No-one may use the qualification of architect, or carry on the profession of such architect, unless he holds a diploma demonstrating that he had passed the tests for the award of that diploma.
2. Without prejudice to paragraph 1, and Articles 7 and 12, Belgian citizens and nationals of other Member States of the European Community, or of a State which is a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, shall be entitled to use the qualification of architect and carry on the profession of such in Belgium if they hold a diploma, certificate or qualification referred to in the annex to this Law.
3. Belgian citizens and nationals of other Member States of the European Community, or of a State which is a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, who meet the requirements set out in the Annex to this Law shall be entitled to use the lawful professional qualification awarded to them by their State of origin or the State from which they come and, as the case may be, the abbreviation of that qualification in the language of that State.
... .
9. In the annex, that law lists the provisions relating to the diplomas, certificates and other qualifications awarded in Germany allowing the holding of the qualification and practice of the profession of architect in Belgium.
10. Lastly, Articles 4 and 5 of the Law of 26 June 1963 establishing the Ordre des Architectes (Architects' Association), provide respectively that no-one may be enrolled in the register of the Association, or in a list of trainees, unless he satisfies the requirements laid down by the Law of 20 February 1939 on the protection of the qualification and profession of architect, and that no-one may practise the profession of architect in Belgium in any capacity unless he is enrolled in the register of the Association or in a list of registered trainees ....
II - Facts and procedure in the main action
11. Mr Dreessen, a Belgian national, holds a diploma in engineering awarded in Germany on 16 February 1966. He worked for 25 years as an employee in various firms of architects in Liège (Belgium). In 1991, following the liquidation of the company for which he worked, Mr Dreessen applied to be enrolled in the register of the Ordre des Architectes de la Province de Liège (Architects' Association of the Province of Liège) with a view to setting up in practice on his own.
12. His application was rejected by decision of 29 April 1993, on the basis that his diploma, awarded by an Allgemeiner Hochbau (building construction department), was not expressly covered by Article 11(a) of Directive 85/384, transposed into national law by amending Royal...
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