91997E3481

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3481/97 by Panayotis Lambrias (PPE) to the Commission (31 October 1997)

Subject: Application of Community law by Member States' national court

As the manner in which Community legislation is applied by the Member States' national courts is an important source of Community law, will the Commission say whether it systematically monitors the case-law of the national courts and takes account of judgments with a direct or indirect bearing on Union legislation?

Answer given by Mr Santer on behalf of the Commission (16 December 1997)

The Commission regularly keeps abreast of judgments given by national courts in cases where Community law is applicable.

The information it gathers is used for the preparation of Annex VI (Application of Community law by national courts) to the annual report to the European Parliament on monitoring the application of Community law ((OJ C 332, 3.11.1997. )). This annex is generally in two parts: the first concerns application of Article 177 of the EC Treaty and the second records significant judgments of national courts of final instance.