JUDGMENT OF 2. 12. 1980 — CASE 43/80 COMMISSION v ITALY

In Case 43/80

THE COURT composed of: J. Mertens de Wilmars, President, P. Pescatore (President of Chamber), Lord Mackenzie Stuart, A. O'Keeffe, G. Bosco, A. Touffait and O. Due, Judges, Advocate General: J.-P. Warner Registrar: A. Van Houtte

gives the following

JUDGMENT

Facts and Issues

I — Facts and written procedure

II — Conclusions of the parties

III — Submissions and arguments of the parties

IV — Oral procedure

Decision

Costs

I —. Facts and written procedure

(1). Member States shall adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provisions needed in order to comply with this directive in such a manner that these provisions shall take effect one year after the date of notification of this directive.

(2). However, in the event of Ireland and the United Kingdom implementing the provisions of the Council Directive of 19 November 1973 at any time later than the date fixed in the preceding paragraph, the provisions of this directive shall take effect simultaneously therewith.

(3). Member States shall communicate the texts of the provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this directive to the Commission.

II —. Conclusions of the parties

1. Declare that the Italian Republic, by failing to adopt within the prescribed period the provisions needed in order to comply with Commission Directive No 76/696/EEC of 27 July 1976 adapting to technical progress the Council Directive of 19 November 1973 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to non-automatic weighing machines, has failed to fulfil one of its obligations under the Treaty;

2. Order the defendant to pay the costs.

III —. Submissions and arguments of the parties

IV —. Oral procedure

1. By application lodged at the Court Registry on 1 February 1980 the Commission of the European Communities brought an action under Article 169 of the EEC Treaty for a declaration that by failing to adopt within the prescribed period the provisions needed to comply with Commission Directive No 76/696 of 17 July 1976 adapting to technical progress the Council Directive of 19 November 1973 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to non-automatic weighing machines (Official Journal L 236, p. 26), the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil one of its obligations under the third paragraph of Article 189 of the EEC Treaty.

2. By Article 2 of that directive Member States were required to put into effect the measures needed to comply therewith within a period of one year from the date of notification thereof; that period expired on 30 July 1977.

3. The Italian Republic does not deny that it has not met that obligation. It states that the delay in implementing the directive was at first due to the fact that a draft law submitted for that purpose had lapsed owing to the dissolution of Parliament and that it was later due to the fact that a draft law requesting statutory authorization for the adoption into the Italian legal system of a number of directives, though approved by the Senate on 16 July 1980, was still under scrutiny by the Chamber of Deputies.

4. Those circumstances do not expunge the failure to fulfil its obligations with which the Italian Republic is charged. According to well-established caselaw, a Member State may not plead provisions, practices or circumstances existing in its internal legal system in order to justify a failure to comply with obligations and time-limits resulting from Community directives.

5. It must therefore be declared that by failing to adopt, within the prescribed period, the provisions needed in order to comply with Commission Directive No 76/696 of 27 July 1976 the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil one of its obligations under the Treaty.

6. Under Article 69 (2) of the Rules of Procedure the unsuccessful party shall be ordered to pay the costs. Since the defendant has been unsuccessful it must be ordered to pay the costs.

On those grounds, THE COURT hereby:

1 Declares that, by failing to adopt, within the prescribed period, the provisions needed in order to comply with Commission Directive No 76/696 of 27 July 1976 adapting to technical progress Council Directive No 73/360/EEC of 19 November 1973 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to non-automatic weighing machines (Official Journal L 236, p. 26), the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil one of its obligations under the Treaty;

2 Orders the defendant to pay the costs.