Keywords
Summary

Keywords

1. Community law – Rights conferred on individuals – Infringement by a Member State – Obligation to make good damage caused to individuals

2. Community law – Rights conferred on individuals – Infringement by a Member State – Obligation to make good damage caused to individuals

Summary

1. Community law precludes national legislation which excludes State liability, in a general manner, for damage caused to individuals by an infringement of Community law attributable to a court adjudicating at last instance by reason of the fact that the infringement in question results from an interpretation of provisions of law or an assessment of facts or evidence carried out by that court.

To exclude all State liability in such circumstances would be tantamount to rendering meaningless the principle that Member States are obliged to make good damage caused to individuals by clear infringements of Community law following upon a decision of a national court adjudicating at last instance, since such exclusion would not guarantee effective judicial protection to individuals of the rights conferred on them by Community law.

(see paras 33, 36, 40, 44, 46, operative part)

2. Member State liability for damage caused to individuals by reason of an infringement of Community law attributable to a national court adjudicating at last instance can be incurred in the exceptional case where that court manifestly infringed the applicable law. Such manifest infringement is to be assessed, inter alia, in the light of a number of criteria, such as the degree of clarity and precision of the rule infringed, whether the infringement was intentional, whether the error of law was excusable or inexcusable, and the non-compliance by the court in question with its obligation to make a reference for a preliminary ruling under the third paragraph of Article 234 EC; it is in any event presumed where the decision involved is made in manifest disregard of the case-law of the Court on the subject.

In that regard, although it remains possible for national law to define the criteria relating to the nature or degree of the infringement which must be met before State liability can be incurred for an infringement of Community law attributable to a national court adjudicating at last instance, under no circumstances may such criteria impose requirements stricter than that of a manifest infringement of the applicable law, as set out in paragraphs 53 to 56 of the judgment in Case C‑224/01 Köbler [2003] ECR I-10239.

Accordingly, Community law also precludes national legislation which limits such liability solely to cases of intentional fault and serious misconduct on the part of the court, if such a limitation were to lead to exclusion of the liability of the Member State concerned in other cases where a manifest infringement of the applicable law was committed.

(see paras 42-44, 46, operative part)