A Level Law Teacher Resource 12 - European Union Case Law

Teacher Resource 12 - European Union case law (answers)

Learner resource 12 is designed to test knowledge of cases involving EU rulings. The list is not exhaustive and you may wish to make a case list template that includes all of the cases you have studied that can be used for revision. Try to encourage the learners to pay more attention to the decision in the case rather than the facts.

Complete the following table with brief details about the facts and decisions in each of these cases:

Case name / Facts / Law
Re Tachographs: EC Commission v UK (1979) / The UK were not complying with the strict EU transport laws which required all heavy goods vehicles to be fitted with a tachograph machine to limit the number of hours a driver is allowed on the road without a break. / The European Commission took the UK to the ECJ who forced the UK to abide by the EU law.
Marshall v Southampton Area Health Authority (1986) / Marshall had been forced to retire from her job. In the UK, the retirement age for men was 65 years old yet for women it was 60 years old.
Marshall argued that her employer would not have been able to treat a man the same way as they were able to treat her. / As this case involved EU laws regarding sexual discrimination, the House of Lords referred the case to the ECJ for a decision.
The ECJ agreed that Marshall should win her case. The UK subsequently changed the retirement age making it the same for both men and women.
Macarthys v Smith (1979) / Smith challenged her employer in the courts for paying her male predecessor more wages for the same job. / Her case was successful as it contravened article 157 TEU (formally article 141 Treaty of Rome) in that men and women should have equal pay for equal work.
This case is an example of a treaty having a horizontal direct effect.
Leonesio v Italian Ministry of Agriculture (1973) / A regulation stated that member states should subsidise dairy farmers who do not produce milk for five years (to reduce over-production). Leonesio claimed his money from the Italian Government but they refused to pay because they had not passed a law allowing such compensation to be paid. / The court held that Leonesio was entitled to his money. The regulation did not require the Italian Government to change their laws. A regulation immediately becomes part of the member state’s law the moment it is passed by the EU.
This is an example of a regulation having a vertical direct effect.
R (The Mayor and Citizens of Westminster City Council) v The Mayor of London (2002) / A city council was not allowed to rely on a directive in a case of judicial review that challenged the congestion charge in London. / A citizen can rely on a directive in their national courts. This right is for citizens only.
Marshall v Southampton Area Health Authority (1986) / Marshall was able to rely on the EU Equal Treatment Directive even though the UK had not fully implemented the directive. / The directive was clear and so she won her case against her employers (a state organisation) when she challenged the unequal retirement age for men and women.
R v Secretary of State for Employment ex parte Equal Opportunities Commission (1994) / The Equal Opportunities Commission sought judicial review to test whether English employment law was in breach of EU law for part-time workers. / This case established greater rights for part-time workers due to the fact that most part-time workers are female and therefore, it was a type of sexual discrimination.
R v Secretary of State for Transport ex parte Factortame (1990) / This case involved a Spanish fishing company who set up a business in the UK. Parliament passed the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 to prevent the Spanish fishermen from fishing in UK waters. This Act of Parliament was in direct conflict with the Treaty of Rome. The judges in this case applied the EU law rather than the UK law. / This case caused a lot of controversy as it demonstrated the power of the EU and links to the sovereignty debate.

Law making