Van Gend en Loos v. Nederlandse Administratie der Belastingen

"NV Algemene Transport- en Expeditie Onderneming van Gend & Loos v. Netherlands Inland Revenue Administration" [1963] ECR 1 [EURLex case 26-62] (also termed the Van Gend en Loos case) is a landmark case of the European Court of Justice. It is universally acknowledged [e.g. Paul Craig and Grainne de Burca, "EU Law" (2007) Chapter 4] as being one of the most important, if not the most important, decision in the European Union's development. The case establishes the doctrine of direct effect in EU law. [Kent page 67]

Facts

Van Gend en Loos, a postal and transportation company, imported some chemical substances from West Germany to the Netherlands. The Dutch customs authorities charged them a tariff on the import. Van Gend en Loos objected, and said the charge was contrary to EC law. Article 12 (now Article 25) of the Treaty of Rome prohibited "measures equivalent to a quantitative restrict on trade". The Dutch court referred the question to the European Court of Justice, to interpret the Treaty.

Advocate General's opinion

Advocate General Roemer thought that some provisions of the treaty could have "direct effect" (that citizens could rely on them) but that Article 12 was not one of them.

Judgment

The European Court of Justice, delivering its judgment on the 5 February 1963, firmly held that Article 12 was capable of creating a right for Van Gend en Loos not to be charged for imports. In a seminal judgment it gave a wide and purposive interpretation to the Treaty of Rome. The Treaty,

ee also

*European Union law
*"Marbury v. Madison"

Notes

References

*cite book| title=Law of the European Union| last=Kent| first=Penelope | year=2001| publisher=Pearson Education| isbn=0582423678| quote="first case in which the ECJ considered the direct effect"

External links

*EURLex case 26-62. [http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=en&numdoc=61962J0026 NV Algemene Transport- en Expeditie Onderneming van Gend & Loos v Netherlands Inland Revenue Administration.] Judgment of the Court of 5 February 1963.