Keywords
Summary

Keywords

1 . SOCIAL POLICY - MEN AND WOMEN WORKERS - PAY - EQUALITY - DIRECT DISCRIMINATION - INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS - PROTECTION BY NATIONAL COURTS

( EEC TREATY , ARTICLE 119 )

2 . SOCIAL POLICY - MEN AND WOMEN WORKERS - PAY - EQUALITY - DIRECT DISCRIMINATION - INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS - DATE OF TAKING EFFECT - TIME-LIMIT FIXED BY THE TREATY - RESOLUTION OF MEMBER STATES - DIRECTIVE OF COUNCIL - INEFFECTIVE TO VARY TIME-LIMIT - AMENDMENT OF TREATY - METHOD OF EFFECTING

( EEC TREATY , ARTICLES 119 AND 236 )

3 . SOCIAL POLICY - MEN AND WOMEN WORKERS - PAY - EQUALITY - DIRECT DISCRIMINATION - INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS - CLAIMS - RETROACTIVITY - LEGAL CERTAINTY

( EEC TREATY , ARTICLE 119 )

4 . SOCIAL POLICY - MEN AND WOMEN WORKERS - PAY - EQUALITY - INDIRECT DISCRIMINATION - ELIMINATION - COMMUNITY POWERS AND NATIONAL POWERS

( EEC TREATY , ARTICLE 119 )

Summary

1 . THE PRINCIPLE THAT MEN AND WOMEN SHOULD RECEIVE EQUAL PAY , WHICH IS LAID DOWN BY ARTICLE 119 , IS ONE OF THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE COMMUNITY . IT MAY BE RELIED ON BEFORE THE NATIONAL COURTS . THESE COURTS HAVE A DUTY TO ENSURE THE PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS WHICH THAT PROVISION VESTS IN INDIVIDUALS , IN PARTICULAR IN THE CASE OF THOSE FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION WHICH HAVE THEIR ORIGIN DIRECTLY IN LEGSILATIVE PROVISIONS OR COLLECTIVE LABOUR AGREEMENTS , AS WELL AS WHERE MEN AND WOMEN RECEIVE UNEQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK WHICH IS CARRIED OUT IN THE SAME ESTABLISHMENT OR SERVICE , WHETHER PRIVATE OR PUBLIC .

2 . ( A ) THE APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLE THAT MEN AND WOMEN SHOULD RECEIVE EQUAL PAY WAS TO HAVE BEEN FULLY SECURED BY THE ORIGINAL MEMBER STATES AS FROM 1 JANUARY1 - LANGUAGE OF THE CASE : FRENCH .

1962 , THE END OF THE FIRST STAGE OF THE TRANSITIONAL PERIOD . WITHOUT PREJUDICE TO ITS POSSIBLE EFFECTS AS REGARDS ENCOURAGING AND ACCELERATING THE FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 119 , THE RESOLUTION OF THE MEMBER STATES OF 31 DECEMBER 1961 WAS INEFFECTIVE TO MAKE ANY VALID MODIFICATION OF THE TIME-LIMIT FIXED BY THE TREATY . APART FROM ANY SPECIFIC PROVISIONS , THE TREATY CAN ONLY BE MODIFIED BY MEANS OF THE AMENDMENT PROCEDURE CARRIED OUT IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 236 .

( B ) IN THE ABSENCE OF TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS , THE PRINCIPLE THAT MEN AND WOMEN SHOULD RECEIVE EQUAL PAY HAS BEEN FULLY EFFECTIVE IN THE NEW MEMBER STATES SINCE THE ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE ACCESSION TREATY , THAT IS , SINCE 1 JANUARY 1973 . THE COUNCIL DIRECTIVE NO 75/117 WAS INCAPABLE OF DIMINISHING THE EFFECT OF ARTICLE 119 OR OF MODIFYING ITS EFFECT IN TIME .

3 . IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS OF LEGAL CERTAINTY AFFECTING ALL THE INTERESTS INVOLVED , BOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE , MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE IN PRINCIPLE TO REOPEN THE QUESTION OF PAY AS REGARDS THE PAST . THE DIRECT EFFECT OF ARTICLE 119 CANNOT BE RELIED ON IN ORDER TO SUPPORT CLAIMS CONCERNING PAY PERIODS PRIOR TO THE DATE OF THIS JUDGMENT , EXCEPT AS REGARDS THOSE WORKERS WHO HAVE ALREADY BROUGHT LEGAL PROCEEDINGS OR MADE AN EQUIVALENT CLAIM .

4 . EVEN IN THE AREAS IN WHICH ARTICLE 119 HAS NO DIRECT EFFECT , THAT PROVISION CANNOT BE INTERPRETED AS RESERVING TO THE NATIONAL LEGISLATURE EXCLUSIVE POWER TO IMPLEMENT THE PRINCIPLE OF EQUAL PAY SINCE , TO THE EXTENT TO WHICH SUCH IMPLEMENTATION IS NECESSARY , IT MAY BE ACHIEVED BY A COMBINATION OF COMMUNITY AND NATIONAL PROVISIONS .