Commission of the European Communities, applicant v. Ireland, defendant

Abstract

By its application, the Commission of the European Communities requested the Court to declare that: – by failing to take all the measures necessary to ensure a correct implementation of the provisions of Articles 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13 and 14 of Council Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on waste, as amended by Council Directive 91/156/EEC of 18 March 1991, Ireland had failed to comply with its obligations under those provisions; – by failing to respond completely and satisfactorily to a request for information in relation to a waste operation in County Cork, Ireland had failed to fulfill the obligations which it had pursuant to Article 10 EC. The Commission explained that this action sought a declaration of failure to fulfill obligations not only on account of the shortcomings noted in the specific situations covered by the 12 complaints but also, and more fundamentally, on account of the general and persistent nature of the deficiencies which characterized the actual application of the Directive in Ireland, of which the specific situations mentioned in those complaints simply constituted examples. The Irish Government contended that the 12 complaints to which the Commission referred in the reasoned opinion had to delimit the subject-matter of the proceedings. Other facts or complaints not notified to Ireland during the pre-litigation procedure could not be relied on in support of the action, and the Commission was not permitted to draw general conclusions from the examination of specific complaints by presuming an alleged systemic failure on Ireland’s part. The Court noted that there were documents pointing out that hundreds if not thousands of illegal waste dumps were scattered across Ireland. It decided that in relation to the subject-matter of the present proceedings, without prejudice to the Commission’s obligation to satisfy in each and every case the burden of proof, in principle nothing prevented the Commission from seeking in parallel a finding that provisions of a directive had not been complied with by reason of the conduct of a Member State’s authorities with regard to particular specifically identified situations and a finding that those provisions had not been complied with because its authorities had adopted a general practice contrary thereto, which the particular situations illustrated where appropriate. It was accepted that an administrative practice could be the subject-matter of an action for failure to fulfill obligations when it was, to some degree, of a consistent and general nature. As the Commission rightly submitted, in so far as the action also sought a declaration that there had been a general failure on the part of the competent national authorities to fulfill obligations, the fact that the deficiencies pointed out in one or other case had been remedied did not necessarily mean that the general and continuous approach of those authorities, to which such specific deficiencies would testify where appropriate, had come to an end. In conclusion, the court held that: – by failing to take all the measures necessary to ensure a correct implementation of the provisions of Articles 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13 and 14 of the Directive, Ireland had failed to comply with its obligations under those provisions; – by failing to respond to a request for information in relation to waste operations in County Cork, Ireland had failed to fulfill the obligations which it had pursuant to Article 10 EC.

Full text

Commission of the European Communities v. Ireland_2005.pdf

Website

curia.europa.eu

References

Cites

Council Directive 91/271/EEC concerning urban waste water treatment.

Legislation | European Union | 1991

Keyword: Pollution control, Effluent waste water/discharge, Freshwater pollution, Surface water, Waste domestic sources, Waste non-domestic sources, Basin/catchment/watershed, Inland waters

Source: FAO, FAOLEX

Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3760/92 establishing a Community system for fisheries and aquaculture.

Legislation | European Union | 1992

Keyword: Fishery management and conservation, Aquaculture, Marine fisheries, Access right, Enforcement/compliance, Fishing vessel, Total allowable catch

Source: FAO, FAOLEX

Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2847/93 establishing a control system applicable to the common fisheries policy.

Legislation | European Union | 1993

Keyword: Marine fisheries, Fishery management and conservation, Territorial sea, High seas, Fishing vessel, Inspection, Enforcement/compliance, Offences/penalties

Source: FAO, FAOLEX