The Court in the life of European Union citizens

Of the thousands of judgments given by the Court, the majority, particularly preliminary rulings, clearly have important consequences for the daily life of European Union citizens. Some of these judgments are cited below as examples from the most important areas of European Union law.

· Free movement of goods

Since the Cassis de Dijon judgment in 1979 on the principle of free movement of goods, traders can import into their country any product coming from another country within the European Union, provided that it was lawfully manufactured and marketed there and that there is no overriding reason relating, for example, to the protection of health or the environment to prevent its importation into the country of consumption.

· Freedom of movement of persons

Many judgments have been given in the field of freedom of movement of persons.
In the judgment in Kraus (1993), the Court held that the situation of a Community national who holds a postgraduate academic title, which was awarded in another Member State and facilitates access to a profession or the pursuit of an economic activity, is governed by Community law, even as regards the relations between that national and his Member State of origin. Accordingly, if a Member State can make use of that title in its territory subject to an administrative authorisation, the authorisation procedure must be intended solely to verify whether the title was properly awarded.
One of the most well-known cases in this field is Bosman (1995), in which the Court gave a ruling on a reference from a Belgian court on the compatibility of rules of football federations with freedom of movement of workers. It stated that professional sport is an economic activity whose exercise may not be hindered by rules governing the transfer of players or restricting the number of players who are nationals of other Member States. That principle was extended in subsequent judgments to the situation of professional sportsmen from third countries which had entered into an association agreement (Deutscher Handballbund, 2003) or a partnership agreement (Simutenkov, 2005) with the European Communities.

· Freedom to provide services

A judgment of 1989 on freedom to provide services concerned a British tourist who was assaulted and seriously injured in the Paris metro. On a reference from a French court, the Court held that, as a tourist, he was the recipient of services outside his country and was covered by the Community law principle of non-discrimination on grounds of nationality. He was therefore entitled to the same compensation as a French national could claim (Cowan).
In cases referred by the Luxembourg courts, the Court declared that national provisions having the effect that an insured person cannot obtain reimbursement of the cost of dental treatment on the ground that it was given in another Member State constitute an unjustified restriction on freedom to provide services (Kohll, 1998), and that refusal to reimburse costs related to the purchase of spectacles abroad is regarded as an unjustified restriction on free movement of goods (Decker, 1998).

· Equal treatment and social rights

An air hostess brought an action against her employer on the grounds of discrimination in the pay she received compared with her male colleagues who did the same work. On a reference from a Belgian court, the Court held in 1976 that the Treaty rule requiring equal pay for men and women for equal work had direct effect (Defrenne).
In its interpretation of the Community rules on equal treatment for men and women, the Court has played a part in protecting women against dismissal linked to pregnancy. A woman who was unable to continue work because of difficulties connected with her pregnancy was dismissed. In 1998, the Court held that that dismissal was contrary to Community law. Dismissal of a woman during pregnancy for absences linked to pregnancy-related illness is unlawful discrimination on grounds of sex (Brown).
In order to ensure the protection of the health and safety of workers, workers must have paid annual leave. In 1999, BECTU, a British trade union, challenged United Kingdom legislation which denied that right to workers on short-term contracts on the ground that it was incompatible with a Community directive on the organisation of working time. The Court held (BECTU, 2001) that the right to paid annual leave is a social right directly conferred on every worker by Community law and that no worker may be denied that right.

· Fundamental rights

By holding that respect for fundamental rights is an integral part of the general principles of law it safeguards, the Court has made a considerable contribution to improving the standards of protection of those rights. In this respect, it looks to the constitutional traditions common to the Member States and to international treaties on the protection of human rights, on which the Member States have collaborated or which they have signed, in particular the European Convention on Human Rights. Following the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, the Court will be able to apply and interpret the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union of 7 December 2000, which is recognised under the Treaty of Lisbon as having the same legal value as the Treaties.
After numerous terrorist attacks against the police, police officers in Northern Ireland began carrying fire-arms. However, on the grounds of public safety, women police officers were not authorised to carry fire-arms (on the basis of a certificate issued by the competent minister which could not be challenged before the courts). As a result, full-time contracts in the Northern Ireland police were no longer offered to women. On a reference from a United Kingdom court, the Court held that excluding any power of review by the courts of a certificate issued by a national authority runs counter to the principle of effective judicial control which may be relied upon by all persons who consider themselves wronged by discrimination on grounds of sex (Johnston, 1986).

· European citizenship

In respect of European Union citizenship which, under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, is afforded to every person holding the nationality of a Member State, the Court has stated that such citizenship entails the right to reside in another Member State. Accordingly, a minor who is a Member State national, is covered by sickness insurance and has available to him or her sufficient resources also has that right to reside. The Court noted that Community law does not require the child itself to have the necessary resources and that refusal to grant at the same time to its mother, who is a third-country national, a right to reside would render redundant the child's right to reside (Zhu and Chen, 2004).
In the same judgment the Court stated that, even where the purpose of acquiring the nationality of a Member State is to obtain for a third-country national a right of residence pursuant to Community law, it is not permissible for a Member State to restrict the effects of the grant of the nationality of another Member State.