Facts
- Comet BV, a Dutch exporter of flower bulbs, was charged a tax levy imposed by Dutch legislation; the company considered the levy incompatible with directly applicable provisions of the EEC Treaty on the free movement of goods.
- Believing the charge constituted an unlawful barrier to intra-Community trade, Comet BV initiated proceedings before the competent Dutch courts to recover the sums paid.
- In the domestic litigation, the statutory time-limits and other procedural rules of Dutch law potentially restricted the company’s capacity to obtain a refund, raising doubt about whether individuals could in practice vindicate EU-derived rights.
- The national court made a preliminary reference to the Court of Justice, asking whether such domestic procedural limitations were permissible in light of the supremacy and direct effect of EEC rules guaranteeing free movement.
Issues
- Must national courts fashion or interpret procedural rules so that individuals can effectively enforce rights conferred directly by EEC law?
- Does the concept of national procedural autonomy permit Member States to maintain rules that, while of general application, may hinder or obstruct the exercise of rights arising from directly effective EEC provisions?
Decision
- The Court of Justice held that, although procedural matters fall in principle within the remit of national law, domestic courts must ensure that those rules do not impair the practical effect of EU rights.
- It articulated the principle of equivalence: actions based on EU law must be governed by procedural conditions no less favourable than those applicable to comparable domestic actions.
- It equally articulated the principle of effectiveness: national procedural requirements must not render the exercise of rights conferred by EU law impossible in practice or excessively difficult.
- Accepting a degree of procedural autonomy, the Court stressed that such autonomy is inherently limited by the need for uniform and effective application of Community law across all Member States.
Legal Principles
- Effective judicial protection demands remedies that are not merely theoretical but capable of securing the actual observance of EU rights.
- Principle of equivalence obliges Member States to treat EU law claims at least as favourably as analogous purely domestic claims.
- Principle of effectiveness prohibits procedural conditions—such as short limitation periods or rigid formalities—that negate or seriously impair the practical exercise of EU rights.
- National procedural autonomy is subordinate to, and conditioned by, the supremacy and direct effect of EU law; where conflict arises, EU law prevails.
Conclusion
The Court of Justice ruled that Dutch procedural rules could not restrict Comet BV’s ability to recover the unlawful levy if those rules treated EU claims less favourably than domestic ones or made enforcement impossible or overly burdensome; Member States retain procedural autonomy only to the extent that it respects the principles of equivalence and effectiveness, thereby safeguarding the uniform application of EU law.