## Facts

- Simmenthal S.p.A., an Italian importer, brought beef from France into Italy.
- Italian authorities imposed a veterinary and public-health inspection fee under an Italian statute enacted in 1970.
- Earlier Community regulations (1964 and 1968) harmonized intra-Community veterinary checks for meat and barred additional inspection charges equivalent to customs duties.
- Simmenthal sued in the Pretura di Susa seeking reimbursement, alleging the national fee conflicted with directly applicable Community law governing free movement of goods.
- After an earlier preliminary ruling found such fees contrary to the EEC Treaty’s free-movement rules, the national court ordered reimbursement.
- On appeal, the Italian administration argued that the later Italian statute remained applicable until repealed by the legislature or annulled by the Italian Constitutional Court.
- The national court referred questions for a preliminary ruling on whether it must itself disregard the conflicting national statute.

## Issues

1. Whether directly applicable Community law renders conflicting national legislation inapplicable, including legislation enacted after the Community provision.
2. Whether a national court with jurisdiction must, on its own authority, disapply conflicting national law without awaiting legislative repeal or constitutional-court annulment.

## Decision

- The Court of Justice held that directly applicable Community provisions render automatically inapplicable any conflicting national rule and preclude the valid adoption of later incompatible national legislation.
- The Court held that every national court must give full effect to Community law within its jurisdiction and must set aside any conflicting national provision, whether earlier or later in time.
- The Court held that national courts must do so immediately, without requesting or waiting for repeal, annulment, or other constitutional procedures.
- The Court issued an interpretive ruling for application by the referring national court in the pending reimbursement dispute.

## Legal Principles

- Supremacy: Directly applicable EU (Community) law prevails over conflicting national law, regardless of temporal sequence.
- Uniform application: Directly applicable EU rules must be applied fully and uniformly in all Member States from entry into force.
- Duty of national courts: National courts must protect EU-law rights by disapplying any conflicting national provision within the case before them.
- No procedural delay: National constitutional or institutional arrangements cannot limit or postpone a court’s obligation to give immediate effect to directly applicable EU law.

## Conclusion

The Court of Justice ruled that national courts must ensure the immediate effectiveness of directly applicable EU law by disapplying conflicting national statutes—including later-enacted statutes—without waiting for legislative repeal or constitutional-court review.


Amministrazione delle Finanze dello Stato v. Simmenthal S.p.A., Case 106/77, 1978 E.C.R. 629 (C.J.E.C. 1978)