State Liability For Breaches Of European Law

Bert Van Roosebeke analyses non-contractual state liability in the European Union. He explains differences in member states’ breaching behaviour and presents the state liability doctrine as developed by the European Court of Justice in a number of cases. He shows that compliance is the true economic aim of state liability legislation and presents a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of both private and public law enforcement mechanisms. He finally formulates improvements to the rules of state liability.

This is the first book to present an in-depth discussion of the right of individuals to receive damages in European law. Analyzing relevant ECJ cases, the authors detail the substantive and procedural criteria that need to be satisfied in order for an individual to succeed in a claim for damages against Community institutions under Article 288 EC or against a defaulting Member State under the court-created Francovich principle.

In light of the 20th anniversary of the ruling in Francovich, Michael Haba analyzes the principle of Member State Liability, which provides a right to damages whenever EU law is breached by Member States. His research ascertains that the doctrine evolved through three stages before becoming the unified approach that it is today. The author emphasizes that the principle’s base lay at the outset of the EEC, when the ECJ sought means to foster the enforcement of EC law. He shows that although State Liability was introduced in Francovich, there was not enough guidance on its application. He highlights that these matters were resolved in Brasserie/Factortame III, which refined the assessment of culpability, but was inconsistent and had to be further clarified in case law. He illustrates that the doctrine was expanded to breaches of EC law by last instance courts in Köbler. Finally, the author examines if breaches of European competition rules could lead to a right to damages under the principle, but concludes that no fourth stage of State Liability can be established.

This research comprises of two parts. The first part analyses the most important issues of the principle of Member State's liability in damages for the breach of European Union law: legal basis of the principle, requirements for liability and, lastly, recent developments in the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The principle of Member State's liability in damages and the requirements of liability are being further developed by the Court in its modern jurisprudence. These cases show that the requirements of liability were clarified and the scope of application of the principle of Member State's liability broadened. The author also examines that the state liability is being recognised both in EU and international law. State responsibility in international law can be understood in a broad sense and a narrow sense. It is emphasized that in a broad sense, state responsibility in international law comprises three institutes: firstly, state responsibility for internationally wrongful acts; secondly, state responsibility for the damage caused by lawful acts.

Over the last two decades public law liability for breach of European Union law has been subject to remarkable developments. This book examines the convergence between its two constituent systems: the damages liability of the EU and that of its Member States for failing to comply with EU rules. Member State liability, based as it is on the Francovich case (1991) and Brasserie du Pêcheur and Factortame (1996) judgments of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is well established. But it is yet to be closely scrutinised by reference to the detailed rules on the liability of the European Union. The focus of the book is on the two key legal criteria that are common to both systems, namely the grant of rights to individuals by EU law and the notion of sufficiently serious breach of such rights. The analysis concentrates on developments in the case law of the ECJ and the General Court since the Bergaderm judgment (2000), which consolidated the convergence of the two liability systems that was first indicated in Brasserie du Pêcheur and Factortame. These two criteria are set side by side to evaluate the extent, in real terms, of the convergence of Member State and EU institutional damages liability, and to determine the extent to which one has influenced the other. This book shows that although full convergence between the two liability systems is not likely, each stream of case law should look to the other more actively as this important element of EU remedial law develops. Convergence in EU law public liability is supported by developments in adjacent areas, most notably European tort law and European administrative law. This study also illustrates how convergence in the EU liability systems to date has had spill-over effects into national public liability law.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopedia of Laws, this book provides ready access to loss compensation under (primary and secondary) European Union Law. This important branch of law tackles questions which today concern private and public lawyers throughout Europe and beyond. Following a general introduction into the structure and institutions of the European Union, the monograph develops in its first part the law of liability for breach of EU law. This addresses primarily the non-contractual liability of the Union and its institutional organs under Art. 340(2) TFEU. Breach of law liability of the Union means responsibility for unlawful public acts without fault by EU legislature, EU executive, and, in principle, EU judiciary. Next to Union liability the monograph covers liability of Member States for breach of EU law in its variants developed by the ECJ. Finally the complex field of liability of private parties for breach of EU law is addressed. The applicability of general principles of the law of damages and– causation, proof, limitation, prescription and– is considered. The second part deals with the law of harmonized civil liability, focusing on EU product liability as its centerpiece. Its succinct yet scholarly nature, as well as the practical quality of the information it provides, make this book a valuable resource for lawyers in the European Union. Academics and researchers will also welcome this very useful guide, and will appreciate its value not only as a contribution to comparative law but also as a stimulus to harmonization of the rules on tort.

Since its formation the European Union has expanded beyond all expectations, and this expansion seems set to continue as more countries seek accession and the scope of EU law expands, touching more and more aspects of its citizens' lives. The EU has never been stronger and yet it now appears to be reaching a crisis point, beset on all sides by conflict and challenges to its legitimacy. Nationalist sentiment is on the rise and the Eurozone crisis has had a deep and lasting impact. EU law, always controversial, continues to perplex, not least because it remains difficult to analyse. What is the EU? An international organization, or a federation? Should its legal concepts be measured against national standards, or another norm? The Oxford Handbook of European Union Law illuminates the richness and complexity of the debates surrounding the law and policies of the EU. Comprising eight sections, it examines how we are to conceptualize EU law; the architecture of EU law; making and administering EU law; the economic constitution and the citizen; regulation of the market place; economic, monetary, and fiscal union; the Area of Freedom, Security, and Justice; and what lies beyond the regulatory state. Each chapter summarizes, analyses, and reflects on the state of play in a given area, and suggests how it is likely to develop in the foreseeable future. Written by an international team of leading commentators, this Oxford Handbook creates a vivid and provocative tapestry of the key issues shaping the laws of the European Union.

Examining EC provisions for dealing effectively with the need to compensate individuals for wrongful acts, this volume covers topics ranging from non-contractual liability of the Community for different kinds of legal act, to questions of damages and the Community's contractual liability.

Infringement proceedings constitute a signi¬ficant proportion of proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union and play a key role in the development of EU law. Their immediate purpose is to obtain a declaration that a Member State has, by its conduct, failed to ful¬l an obligation under the EU Treaties. The aim is to bring that conduct and its effects to an end and, ultimately, to eliminate infringements across the Union. This book – the ¬first comprehensive and detailed full-length work in English on infringement proceedings under Articles 258-260 TFEU – provides not only an in-depth discussion on the role and function of infringement proceedings within the EU legal order, but also a critical assessment of the procedures as they currently stand, complete with proposals for future changes. Recognizing that Member States’ compliance with EU law is an integral part of the task of ensuring the rule of law throughout the Union, the author thoroughly explains the functioning of infringement proceedings, their requirements and related policies, including issues such as: – the Commission’s discretion to bring a case before the Court; – the author of the infringement, including national courts or private entities; – Member States’ procedural and substantive defences; – the different procedures under Articles 258, 259 and 260(2) and (3) TFEU; – rights of private parties; – interim measures; – ¬financial sanctions; – Member States’ liability; and – the roles played by the European Parliament and the Ombudsman. Particular attention is devoted to rules that have not yet been fully interpreted, or where the current interpretation or application of the rules seems problematic. The book tackles, in particular, whether infringement proceedings, as they stand, constitute an appropriate means of ensuring observance by Member States’ authorities of the EU acquis, and, if not, what reforms should be implemented in order to achieve this in the future. Such a detailed and in-depth examination of this fundamental procedure of EU law will be of great and long-lasting interest to EU and Member State administrators, legal practitioners and academics. Luca Prete is currently a référendaire (Legal Secretary) for Advocate General Wahl at the Court of Justice of the European Union, on secondment from the Legal Service of the European Commission. He is also a member of the Centre for European Law of the Free University of Brussels (VUB). He has published several articles in the fi¬eld of EU law and is a regular speaker at EU law seminars and conferences.