Der Staat als Adressat des Unionsrechts

Abstract

The state functions as addressee of a vast number of norms of conduct provided by the EU, however, it is undetermined which actors or norms ought to be subsumed under term “state”. The question of the imputability to the state arises not only as far as the delimitation of the personal scope as regards EU norms of conduct directed to the state – the “state” as addressee – is concerned but within the question of the state’s liability for misconduct as well. This publication analyses the ECJ’s case-law over the decades, in order to determine whether organisational or functional factors are decisive for the imputability to the state, how the expansion of the scope of application on individuals relates to the imputability, and what impact the case-law has on the EU law’s control and sanction mechanisms. The question arises as to whether it is possible to establish a system on the basis of the ECJ’s individual decisions within the respective areas of the EU law, which could, within and across sectors, claim validity for the entire EU law or parts thereof.