Procesos penales contra Jean-Claude Arblade y Arblade & Fils SARL (C-369/96) y Bernard Leloup, Serge Leloup y Sofrage SARL (C-376/96).

• Jurisdiction: European Union
• Celex Number: 61996CJ0369
• ECLI: ECLI:EU:C:1999:575
• Docket Number: C-376/96,C-369/96
• Court: Court of Justice (European Union)
• Procedure Type: Reference for a preliminary ruling
• Date: 23 November 1999

Avis juridique important

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61996J0369

Judgment of the Court of 23 November 1999. - Criminal proceedings against Jean-Claude Arblade and Arblade & Fils SARL (C-369/96) and Bernard Leloup, Serge Leloup and Sofrage SARL (C-376/96). - References for a preliminary ruling: Tribunal correctionnel de Huy - Belgium. - Freedom to provide services - Temporary deployment of workers for the purposes of performing a contract - Restrictions. - Joined cases C-369/96 and C-376/96.

European Court reports 1999 Page I-08453

Summary
Parties
Grounds
Decision on costs
Operative part

Keywords

1 Freedom to provide services - Restrictions - Whether undertakings in the construction sector supplying a service may be required to pay minimum remuneration fixed by collective agreement applicable in the host Member State - Conditions

(EC Treaty, Art. 59 (now, after amendment, Art. 49 EC) and Art. 60 (now Art. 50 EC))

2 Freedom to provide services - Restrictions - Whether undertakings in the construction sector supplying a service may be required to pay employers' contributions at the same time as comparable contributions in the place of establishment - Not permissible

(EC Treaty, Art. 59 (now, after amendment, Art. 49 EC) and Art. 60 (now Art. 50 EC))

3 Freedom to provide services - Restrictions - Whether undertakings in the construction sector supplying a service may be required to draw up social or labour documents at the same time as comparable documents held in the place of establishment - Not permissible

(EC Treaty, Art. 59 (now, after amendment, Art. 49 EC) and Art. 60 (now Art. 50 EC))

4 Freedom to provide services - Restrictions - Whether undertakings in the construction sector supplying a service may be required to keep social and labour documents available in the territory of the host Member State - Conditions

(EC Treaty, Art. 59 (now, after amendment, Art. 49 EC) and Art. 60 (now Art. 50 EC))

5 Freedom to provide services - Restrictions - Whether undertakings in the construction sector supplying a service may be required to retain, after termination of activities in the host Member State, social documents at the address within that Member State of a natural person - Not permissible

(EC Treaty, Art. 59 (now, after amendment, Art. 49 EC) and Art. 60 (now Art. 50 EC))

Summary

1 Articles 59 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 49 EC) and 60 of the Treaty (now Article 50 EC) do not preclude a Member State from requiring an undertaking established in another Member State, operating in the construction sector and temporarily carrying out work in the first State, to pay the workers deployed by it the minimum remuneration fixed by the collective labour agreement applicable in the first Member State, provided that the provisions in question are sufficiently precise and accessible, and that they do not render it impossible or excessively difficult in practice for such an employer to determine the obligations with which he is required to comply.

2 Articles 59 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 49 EC) and 60 of the Treaty (now Article 50 EC) preclude a Member State from requiring - even by way of public-order legislation - an undertaking established in another Member State, operating in the construction sector and temporarily carrying out work in the first State, to pay, in respect of each worker deployed, employers' contributions to schemes such as the `timbres-intempéries' and `timbres-fidélité' schemes, and to issue to each of such workers an individual record, where the undertaking in question is already subject, in the Member State in which it is established, to obligations which are essentially comparable, as regards their objective of safeguarding the interests of workers, and which relate to the same workers and the same periods of activity.

3 Articles 59 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 49 EC) and 60 of the Treaty (now Article 50 EC) preclude a Member State from requiring - even by way of public-order legislation - an undertaking established in another Member State, operating in the construction sector and temporarily carrying out work in the first State, to draw up social or labour documents such as labour rules, a special staff register and an individual account for each worker in the form prescribed by the rules of the first State, where the social protection of workers which may justify those requirements is already safeguarded by the production of social and labour documents kept by the undertaking in question in accordance with the rules applying in the Member State in which it is established.

That is the position where, as regards the keeping of social and labour documents, the undertaking is already subject, in the Member State in which it is established, to obligations which are comparable, as regards their objective of safeguarding the interests of workers, to those imposed by the legislation of the host Member State, and which relate to the same workers and the same periods of activity.

4 Articles 59 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 49 EC) and 60 of the Treaty (now Article 50 EC) do not preclude a Member State from requiring an undertaking established in another Member State, operating in the construction sector and temporarily carrying out work in the first State, to keep social and labour documents available, throughout the period of activity within the territory of the first Member State, on site or in an accessible and clearly identified place within the territory of that State, where such a measure is necessary in order to enable it effectively to monitor compliance with legislation of that State which is justified by the need to safeguard the social protection of workers.

5 Articles 59 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 49 EC) and 60 of the Treaty (now Article 50 EC) preclude a Member State from requiring - even by way of public-order legislation - an undertaking established in another Member State, operating in the construction sector and temporarily carrying out work in the first State, to retain, for a period of five years after the undertaking in question has ceased to employ workers in the first Member State, social documents such as a staff register and individual accounts, at the address within that Member State of a natural person who holds those documents as an agent or servant. Such requirements cannot be justified, since the monitoring of compliance with rules concerning the social protection of workers in the construction industry can be achieved by less restrictive measures.

Parties

In Joined Cases C-369/96 and C-376/96,

REFERENCE to the Court under Article 177 of the EC Treaty (now Article 234 EC) by the Tribunal Correctionnel de Huy (Belgium) for a preliminary ruling in the criminal proceedings pending before that court against

Jean-Claude Arblade,

Arblade & Fils SARL, as the party civilly liable (C-369/96),

and

Bernard Leloup,

Serge Leloup,

Sofrage SARL, as the party civilly liable (C-376/96),

on the interpretation of Articles 59 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 49 EC) and 60 of the EC Treaty (now Article 50 EC),

THE COURT,

composed of: G.C. Rodríguez Iglesias, President, J.C. Moitinho de Almeida, D.A.O. Edward (Rapporteur), R. Schintgen (Presidents of Chambers), J.-P. Puissochet, G. Hirsch, P. Jann, H. Ragnemalm and M. Wathelet, Judges,

Advocate General: D. Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer,

Registrar: D. Louterman-Hubeau, Principal Administrator,

after considering the written observations submitted on behalf of:

- J.-C. Arblade and Arblade & Fils SARL (C-369/96) and B. and S. Leloup and Sofrage SARL (C-376/96), by D. Ketchedjian and E. Jakhian, respectively of the Paris and Brussels Bars,

- the Belgian Government (C-369/96 and C-376/96), by J. Devadder, General Adviser in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, External Trade and Development Aid, acting as Agent, assisted by B. van de Walle de Ghelcke, of the Brussels Bar,

- the German Government (C-369/96 and C-376/96), by E. Röder, Ministerialrat in the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs, and B. Kloke, Oberregierungsrat in that Ministry, acting as Agents,

- the Austrian Government (C-369/96 and C-376/96), by M. Potacs, of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acting as Agent,

- the Finnish Government (C-369/96), by T. Pynnä, Legal Adviser in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acting as Agent,

- the Commission of the European Communities (C-369/96 and C-376/96), by A. Caeiro, Legal Adviser, and M. Patakia, of its Legal Service, acting as Agents,

having regard to the Report for the Hearing,

after hearing the oral observations of J.-C. Arblade and Arblade & Fils SARL and B. and S. Leloup and Sofrage SARL, represented by D. Ketchedjian, of the Belgian Government, represented by B. van de Walle de Ghelcke, assisted by J.-C. Heirman, social inspector, acting as an expert, of the German Government, represented by E. Röder, of the Netherlands Government, represented by J.S. van den Oosterkamp, Assistant Legal Adviser in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acting as Agent, of the Finnish Government, represented by T. Pynnä, of the United Kingdom Government, represented by J.E. Collins, Assistant Treasury Solicitor, acting as Agent, assisted by D. Wyatt QC, and of the Commission, represented by A. Caeiro and M. Patakia, at the hearing on 19 May 1998,

after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 25 June 1998,

gives the following

Judgment

Grounds

1 By two judgments of 29 October 1996, received at the Court on 25 November 1996 (C-369/96) and 26 November 1996 (C-376/96) respectively, the Tribunal Correctionnel de Huy (Huy Criminal Court) referred to the Court for a preliminary ruling under Article 177 of the EC Treaty (now Article 234 EC), in each of those cases, two questions on the interpretation of Articles 59 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 49 EC) and 60 of the EC Treaty (now...