Category: EC law

Márquez Samohano v Universitat Pompeu Fabra – WLR Daily

Posted March 17th, 2014 in contract of employment, EC law, fixed-term contracts, law reports, universities by sally

Márquez Samohano v Universitat Pompeu Fabra: (Case C-190/13); [2014] WLR (D)  129

‘Clause 5 of the Framework Agreement on fixed-term work, annexed to Council Directive 1999/70/EC, did not preclude national rules which allowed universities to renew successive fixed term employment contracts concluded with associate lecturers, with no limitation as to the maximum duration and the number of renewals of those contracts, where such contracts were justified by an objective reason within the meaning of clause 5(1)(a), which was a matter for the referring court to verify. It was also for that court to ascertain that whether the renewal of the successive fixed-term employment contracts at issue was actually intended to cover temporary needs and that rules were not, in fact, used to meet fixed and permanent needs in terms of employment of teaching staff.’

WLR Daily, 13th March 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Nierodzik v Samodzielny Publiczny Psychiatryczny Zakład Opieki Zdrowotnej im dr Stanisława Deresza w Choroszczy – WLR Daily

Posted March 17th, 2014 in contract of employment, EC law, fixed-term contracts, law reports by sally

Nierodzik v Samodzielny Publiczny Psychiatryczny Zakład Opieki Zdrowotnej im dr Stanisława Deresza w Choroszczy: (Case C-38/13);  [2014] WLR (D)  127

‘Clause 4(1) of the Framework Agreement on fixed-term work, annexed to Council Directive 1999/70/EC, precluded a national rule which provided that for the termination of fixed-term contracts of more than six months, a fixed notice period of two weeks would be applied regardless of the length of service of the worker concerned, whereas the length of the notice period for contracts of indefinite duration was fixed in accordance with the length of service of the worker concerned and could vary from two weeks to three months, where those two categories of workers were in comparable situations.’

WLR Daily, 13th March 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Brogsitter v Fabrication de Montres Normandes EURL and another – WLR Daily

Posted March 17th, 2014 in conflict of laws, contracts, EC law, law reports, regulations by sally

Brogsitter v Fabrication de Montres Normandes EURL and another: Case C-548/12;   [2014] WLR (D)  130

‘Civil liability claims, such as those at issue in the instant case, which were made in tort under national law, had to none the less be considered as concerning “matters relating to a contract” within the meaning of article 5(1)(a) of Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001, where the conduct complained of could be considered a breach of the terms of the contract, which could be established by taking into account the purpose of the contract.’

WLR Daily, 13th March 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

S v Minister voor Immigratie, Integratie en Asiel; Minister voor Immigratie, Integratie en Asiel v G – WLR Daily

Posted March 13th, 2014 in EC law, families, freedom of movement, law reports by sally

S v Minister voor Immigratie, Integratie en Asiel;  Minister voor Immigratie, Integratie en Asiel v G: (Case C-457/12);   [2014] WLR (D)  121

‘A member state was entitled, pursuant to Parliament and Council Directive 2004/38/EC, to refuse to grant a right of residence to a third country national who was a family member of a Union citizen where that citizen was a national of and resided in that member state but regularly travelled to another member state in the course of his professional activities. However, article 45FEU of the FEU Treaty conferred on a third country national who was the family member of a Union citizen a derived right of residence in the member state of which that citizen was a national, where the citizen resided in that member state but regularly travelled to another member state as a worker within the meaning of that provision, if the refusal to grant such a right of residence discouraged the worker from effectively exercising his rights under article 45FEU, which was for the referring court to determine.’

WLR Daiily, 12th March 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

 

O v Minister voor Immigratie, Integratie en Asiel; Minister voor Immigratie, Integratie en Asiel v B – WLR Daily

Posted March 13th, 2014 in EC law, families, freedom of movement, law reports by sally

O v Minister voor Immigratie, Integratie en Asiel; Minister voor Immigratie, Integratie en Asiel v B: (Case C-456/1;   [2014] WLR (D)  120

‘Article 21(1)FEU of the FEU Treaty meant that where a Union citizen had created or strengthened a family life with a third country national during genuine residence, pursuant to and in conformity with the conditions set out in articles 7(1) and (2) and article 16(1) and (2) of Parliament and Council Directive 2004/38/EC in a member state other than that of which he was a national, the provisions of the Directive applied by analogy where that Union citizen returned, with the family member in question, to his member state of origin.’

WLR Daily, 12th March 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Napoli v Ministero della Giustizia – Dipartimento dell’Amministrazione penitenziaria – WLR Daily

Posted March 12th, 2014 in EC law, employment, equality, law reports, public interest, sex discrimination, women by sally

Napoli v Ministero della Giustizia – Dipartimento dell’Amministrazione penitenziaria: (Case C-595/12);   [2014] WLR (D)  115

‘Article 15 of Parliament and Council Directive 2006/54/EC precluded national legislation which, on grounds relating to the public interest, excluded a woman on maternity leave from a vocational training course which formed an integral part of her employment and which was compulsory in order to be able to be appointed definitively to a post as a civil servant and in order to benefit from an improvement in her employment conditions, while guaranteeing her the right to participate in the next training course, the date of which was nevertheless uncertain. Article 14(2), which provided that a difference of treatment based on a characteristic relating to sex did not constitute discrimination in relation to particular occupational activities, did not apply since the national legislation did not limit a specified activity solely to male workers but only delayed access to that activity for female workers who had been unable to receive full vocational training as a result of compulsory maternity leave. Both articles 14(1)(c) and 15 were sufficiently clear, precise and unconditional to have direct effect.’

WLR Daily, 6th March 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Recent Developments In Tax Planning From A European Perspective: The Impact on Off Shore Jurisdictions – Six Pump Court

Posted March 10th, 2014 in disclosure, EC law, money laundering, news, taxation, trusts by sally

‘As part of a pan European project to cut down on alleged illicit money laundering through financial institutions and legally created entities such as companies, foundations and trusts, the European Union has launched its fourth anti-money laundering Directive.’

Full story

Six Pump Court, 7th March 2014

Source: www.6pumpcourt.co.uk

Supreme Court rules on EU conditions for asylum seekers – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted March 10th, 2014 in asylum, EC law, human rights, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Supreme Court overturned the Court of Appeal’s decision on the correct test for when an asylum seeker or refugee resists their return to another EU country (here Italy) in which they first sought or were granted asylum. The parties before the court all agreed that the test applied by the Court of Appeal, namely a requirement for a systemic deficiencies in the listed country’s asylum procedures and reception conditions was incorrect.’

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 10th March 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Backaldrin Österreich The Kornspitz Co GmbH v Pfahnl Backmittel GmbH – WLR Daily

Posted March 7th, 2014 in EC law, law reports, trade marks by sally

Backaldrin Österreich The Kornspitz Co GmbH v Pfahnl Backmittel GmbH(Case C-409/12); [2014] WLR (D) 112

‘Under article 12(2)(a) of Parliament and Council Directive 2008/95/EC a trade mark was liable to revocation in respect of a product for which it was registered if, in consequence of acts or “inactivity” of the proprietor, that trade mark had become the common name for that product from the point of view solely of end users of the product. There was “inactivity” if the proprietor of the trade mark did not encourage sellers to make more use of that mark in marketing a product in respect of which the mark was registered; and the revocation of a trade mark did not presuppose that it had to be ascertained whether there were other names for a product for which that trade mark had become the common name in the trade.’

WLR Daily, 6th March 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Stott v Thomas Cook Tour Operators Ltd (Secretary of State for Transport intervening) – WLR Daily

Posted March 7th, 2014 in aircraft, carriage by air, damages, disabled persons, EC law, law reports by sally

Stott v Thomas Cook Tour Operators Ltd (Secretary of State for Transport intervening): [2014] UKSC 15; [2014] WLR (D) 111

‘The court could not award damages for distress and injury to feelings caused to a disabled passenger during flight in breach of Council Regulation (EC) No 1107/2006 (implemented in domestic law by the Civil Aviation (Access to Air Travel for Disabled Persons and Persons with Reduced Mobility) Regulations 2007) since such an award was precluded by article 29 of the Montreal Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air 1999 (“the Montreal Convention”), as adopted in the European Union by Council Regulation (EC) No 2027/97, as amended by article 3(1) of Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 889/2002, (“the Montreal Regulation”), and pursuant to the European Communities Act 1972, as amended.’

WLR Daily, 5th March 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Nottingham City Council v LM and others – WLR Daily

Posted February 28th, 2014 in care orders, children, conflict of laws, EC law, jurisdiction, law reports by sally

Nottingham City Council v LM and others [2014] EWCA Civ 152; [2014] WLR (D) 92

‘Jurisdiction had to be considered in every children case with an international element and at the earliest opportunity, particularly when the proceedings were issued and at the case management hearing.’

WLR Daily, 21st February 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Marks & Spencer plc v Revenue and Customs Commissioners (No 2) – WLR Daily

Posted February 28th, 2014 in corporation tax, EC law, insolvency, law reports, subsidiary companies by sally

Marks & Spencer plc v Revenue and Customs Commissioners (No 2) [2014] UKSC 11; [2014] WLR (D) 90

‘A company was entitled to make successive claims to cross-border group relief against corporation tax in relation to the same loss incurred in the same accounting period by a European subsidiary which had gone into liquidation and then to withdraw any earlier claims in respect of the same surrendered loss which did not meet the subsequent judicially determined test, subject to the claim ultimately relied upon not being statute-barred.’

WLR Daily, 19th February 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Regina (EM (Eritrea)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (United Nations High Commissioner for; Refugees intervening); Regina (EH (Iran)) v Same; Regina (AE (Eritrea)) v Same; Regina (MA (Eritrea)) v Same – WLR Daily

Posted February 25th, 2014 in appeals, asylum, EC law, human rights, international law, law reports, refugees by sally

Regina (EM (Eritrea)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (United Nations High Commissioner for; Refugees intervening); Regina (EH (Iran)) v Same; Regina (AE (Eritrea)) v Same; Regina (MA (Eritrea)) v Same [2014] UKSC 12; [2014] WLR (D) 89

‘A presumption that members of an alliance of states such as those which comprised the European Union would comply with their international obligations in regard to refugee protection did not extinguish the need to examine whether in fact those obligations would be fulfilled when evidence was presented that it was unlikely that they would be. The removal of a person from a member state of the European Union was forbidden if it were shown that there was a real risk that the person removed would suffer inhuman or degrading treatment in violation of article 3 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. It did not need to be shown that the source of that risk was a systemic deficiency in the asylum and reception procedures of the state to which the person was being removed.’

WLR Daily, 19th February 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Wall v Mutuelle de Poitiers Assurances – WLR Daily

Posted February 24th, 2014 in civil procedure rules, conflict of laws, damages, EC law, expert witnesses, law reports, personal injuries by sally

Wall v Mutuelle de Poitiers Assurances [2014] EWCA 12; [2014] WLR (D) 86

‘Where a cyclist had been run down in France and brought proceedings in the English courts seeking damages for personal injury, the question whether there should be one single joint expert, or more than one expert pursuant to CPR Pt 35, was a matter of “evidence and procedure” within the meaning of article 1(3) of Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 864/2007. Therefore the question of which expert evidence the court should order fell to be determined in accordance with English and not French law.’

WLR Daily, 20th February 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (Appellant) v Marks and Spencer plc (Respondent); Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (Respondent) v Marks and Spencer plc (Appellant) – Supreme Court

Posted February 21st, 2014 in corporation tax, EC law, law reports, subsidiary companies by sally

Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (Appellant) v Marks and Spencer plc (Respondent); Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (Respondent) v Marks and Spencer plc (Appellant) [2014] UKSC 11 & [2013] UKSC 30 (YouTube)

Supreme Court, 19th February 2014

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt

Aarhus: CJEU rules against UK costs regime – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted February 19th, 2014 in costs, damages, EC law, environmental protection, injunctions, news, protective costs orders by sally

‘Litigation costs are troublesome, but they are particularly difficult in environmental cases where the claimant is not necessarily pursuing his private interests. This case is the result of a long-running and successful campaign by NGOs to persuade the EU Commission to investigate UK environmental legal costs. The main finding may not bother the UK too much, because wisely it saw this one coming and changed costs rules in environmental public law cases. But a subsidiary ruling about cross-undertakings as to damages will cause the courts, if not the Government, to rethink things.’

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 18th February 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

H Gautzsch Großhandel GmbH & Co KG v Münchener Boulevard Möbel Joseph Duna GmbH – WLR Daily

Posted February 17th, 2014 in copyright, EC law, law reports by sally

H Gautzsch Großhandel GmbH & Co KG v Münchener Boulevard Möbel Joseph Duna GmbH (Case C‑479/12); [2014] WLR (D) 66

‘It was possible that an unregistered design could reasonably have become known in the normal course of business to the “circles specialised in the sector concerned” operating within the European Union, within the meaning of article 11(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002, if images of the design were distributed to traders operating in that sector. However, it was possible that an unregistered design might not reasonably have become known in the normal course of business to the circles specialised in the sector concerned, operating within the European Union, even though it was disclosed to third parties without any explicit or implicit conditions of confidentiality, if it had been “made available”, within the meaning of article 7(1) of the Regulation, to only one undertaking in that sector or had been presented only in the showrooms of an undertaking outside the European Union.’

WLR Daily, 13th February 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

European Commission v United Kingdom (Kingdom of Denmark and another intervening) – WLR Daily

Posted February 17th, 2014 in costs, EC law, law reports, protective costs orders by sally

European Commission v United Kingdom (Kingdom of Denmark and another intervening) (Case C‑530/11); [2014] WLR (D) 69

‘A European Union (“EU”) Directive could not be transposed by national case law since EU law conferred on individuals specific rights which would need unequivocal rules in order to be effective. In the field of public participation in decision‑making and access to justice in environmental matters, the costs regime laid down by United Kingdom case law did not ensure a claimant reasonable predictability in relation to both whether the costs of the judicial proceedings in which he became involved were payable by him and their amount, although such predictability appeared particularly necessary because judicial proceedings in the United Kingdom entailed high lawyers’ fees. Moreover, the United Kingdom’s system of cross-undertakings in respect of the grant of interim relief constituted an additional element of uncertainty and imprecision so far as concerned compliance with the requirement that proceedings not be prohibitively expensive.’

WLR Daily, 13th February 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Svensson and others v Retriever Sverige AB – WLR Daily

Posted February 17th, 2014 in copyright, EC law, internet, law reports by sally

Svensson and others v Retriever Sverige AB (Case C-466/12); [2014] WLR (D) 67

‘Under article 3(1) of Parliament and Council Directive 2001/29/EC of the of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society, the provision on a website of hyperlinks to works freely available on another website did not constitute an “act of communication to the public”. Article 3(1) precluded a member state from giving wider protection to copyright holders by laying down that the concept of communication to the public included a wider range of activities than those referred to in the article.’

WLR Daily, 13th February 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Linking to free web content is legal, says EU Court – BBC News

Posted February 17th, 2014 in copyright, EC law, internet, news by sally

‘Websites can link to freely available content without the permission of the copyright holder, the European Court of Justice says.’

Full story

BBC News, 14th February 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk