EU Law: State Liability and the Conditions for its Establishment

Review of Previous Lesson

• Topic: State liability
• Key Point: Represents the final recourse for EU citizens to enforce their rights
• Case Introduced: Francovich (Key case for State liability)

This Lesson: Conditions for State Liability

• Core Focus: Main conditions as established by the Francovich case
• Importance: State liability mainly applies to EU directives

Key Conditions for State Liability (Francovich Case)

1. Granting of Rights: The directive in question should aim to grant rights to EU citizens
   • Directives: Not binding in content, but binding in the results to be achieved
   • Example: Working time directives, equal rights protections
2. Identifiable Rights: Rights should be clearly identifiable and understood
3. Causal Connection: A direct causal connection between the state’s breach and the claimant’s damage
   • Importance of causation: Essential in proving the state's liability

Illustrative Cases

• Joined Case: Factortame & Brasserie (1996)
  • Factortame: Spanish fishermen vs. UK government
  • Brasserie: German brewers vs. German government
  • Judgment: Expanded on Francovich, added new conditions

Expanded Conditions (Post-Francovich)

1. Confer Rights: EU laws confer rights on EU citizens (identifiable rights implied)
2. Sufficiently Serious Breach: The breach was gravely and manifestly beyond the state's discretion
3. Causal Link: A causal link between the breach and the damage

Sufficiently Serious Test

• Definition: Situations where a member state gravely disregarded the limits of its discretion
• Discretion Clarification: Simple breaches within discretion are not sufficient
• Application: Sufficiently serious breaches involve blatant disregard for EU law limits

Summary

• State liability has specific conditions mainly tied to EU directives
• Key cases: Francovich, Factortame, Brasserie
• Conditions include identifiable rights, serious breaches, and causation
• Sufficiently Serious Breach: Critical addition post-Francovich, with stringent guidelines on member state discretion