Commission of the European Communities v. Ireland. Case C-459/03. Judgment

Abstract

Commission of the European Communities v. Ireland. Case C-459/03. Jud gment. At <http://eur-lex.europa.eu>.Court of Justice of the European Communities (Grand Chamber), May 30, 2006.On May 30,2006, the Court of Justice of the European Communities (ECJ) ruled on Case C-459/03, Commission v. Ireland, brought by the European Commission (Commission) and alleging Ireland's failure to fulfill obligations under the Treaty Establishing the European Community (EC Treaty). In 2001, Ireland had initiated proceedings against the United Kingdom before an ad hoc Arbitral Tribunal pursuant to the Annex VII dispute settlement procedures of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS Convention). In the present case, the Commission alleged, first, that Ireland breached Article 292 of the EC Treaty and Article 193 of the EURATOM Treaty (EA Treaty) because, by submitting the dispute to Annex VII arbitration, Ireland failed to respect the ECJ's exclusive jurisdiction on the interpretation and application of EC law. Second, the Commission claimed that Ireland had violated Article 10 of the EC Treaty and Article 192 of the EA Treaty because, by not consulting with the Commission before initiating arbitral proceedings, Ireland had hindered the achievement of the EC's tasks and jeopardized the attainment of the objectives of the EC Treaty. The Court upheld all complaints.