Keywords
Summary

Keywords

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1. Community law - Direct effect - Powers of national court - Assessment of its own motion of the conformity of national rules with Community law

2. Social policy - Equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security - Scope ratione personae of Directive 79/7 - Determined independently of its scope ratione materiae

(Council Directive 79/7, Arts 2 and 3)

3. Social policy - Equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security - Directive 79/7 - Reliance thereon by a person not coming within its scope ratione personae - Condition - Detriment connected with the application to his spouse who is entitled to rely on the directive of a discriminatory provision

(Council Directive 79/7)

4. Social policy - Equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security - Directive 79/7 - Maintenance of the effects of national legislation excluding married women from the benefit of old-age insurance - Not permissible

(Council Directive 79/7)

Summary

1. Community law does not preclude a national court from examining of its own motion whether national rules are in conformity with the precise and unconditional provisions of a directive, the period for whose implementation has elapsed, where the individual has not relied on that directive before the national court.

2. The scope ratione personae of Directive 79/7 on the progressive implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security is fixed by Article 2 and may not be extended to a person outside that scope on the ground that he comes within a national scheme which, pursuant to Article 3 of the Directive, comes within its scope ratione materiae.

3. An individual may rely on Directive 79/7 before a national court if he bears the effects of a discriminatory national provision regarding his spouse, who is not a party to the proceedings, provided that his spouse herself comes within the scope of the directive.

4. Directive 79/7 must be interpreted as not allowing the Member States to retain in force, after the expiry of the period laid down for its implementation, the effects of earlier national legislation which in certain circumstances excluded married women from the benefit of old-age insurance.