Indirect effect is a principle of the
European Union (EU) law, whereby national courts of the
member states of the EU are required to interpret national law in line with provisions of EU law. The principle of indirect effect contrasts with the principle of
direct effect
In European Union law, direct effect is the principle that Union law may, if appropriately framed, confer rights on individuals which the courts of member states of the European Union are bound to recognise and enforce.
Direct effect is not ex ...
, which, under certain conditions, allows individuals to invoke the EU law itself before national courts.
The indirect effect arises from the failure of a member state to implement a directiveeither correctly or at allbut where the direct effect cannot apply because the party against whom the directive is sought to be enforced is a private entity or otherwise fails to meet the conditions which would give the directive
direct effect
In European Union law, direct effect is the principle that Union law may, if appropriately framed, confer rights on individuals which the courts of member states of the European Union are bound to recognise and enforce.
Direct effect is not ex ...
. In ''
Von Colson and Kamann v Land Nordrhein-Westfalen
''Von Colson v Land Nordrhein-Westfalen'' (1984Case 14/83is an EU law case, concerning the conflict of law between a national legal system and European Union law.
Facts
Sabine Von Colson and Elisabeth Kamann were German social workers who applie ...
'', the ECJ ruled that national courts should interpret national law in line with the directive, "in so far as it is given the discretion to do so under national law". While ''Von Colson'' dealt with a situation where a member state had failed to implement a directive correctly, in ''
Marleasing v La Comercial Internacional de Alimentacion
''Marleasing SA v La Comercial Internacional de Alimentación SA'' (1990C-106/89was a decision of the European Court of Justice concerning the indirect effect of European Community law, now European Union law. It established that the courts of E ...
'' the ECJ extended indirect effect to situations where the member state concerned had not implemented the directive at all.
While the indirect effect is of great importance especially in relation to directives, recommendations and opinions could have indirect effect as well. Recommendations and opinions have no binding force, like directives have. However, in ''
Grimaldi v Fonds des Maladies Professionnelles
Grimaldi may refer to:
Rulers of Monaco
* House of Grimaldi, the princely family of Monaco
**List of Grimaldi family members
* Rainier Grimaldi, a French admiral
People
* Alberto Grimaldi (1925–2021), Italian film producer
* Anna Grimaldi ...
'' the ECJ has ruled that since recommendations and opinions must have some legal effect, they should be taken into consideration when dealing with measures that the two were supposed to supplement.
See also
*
European Union law
European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its valu ...
*
Direct effect
In European Union law, direct effect is the principle that Union law may, if appropriately framed, confer rights on individuals which the courts of member states of the European Union are bound to recognise and enforce.
Direct effect is not ex ...
*
Incidental effect
Incidental effect is a concept in European Union law that allows the use of indirect effect Indirect effect is a principle of the European Union (EU) law, whereby national courts of the member states of the EU are required to interpret national ...
*
Francovich v Italy
''Francovich v Italy'' (1991) C-6/90 was a decision of the European Court of Justice which established that European Union Member States could be liable to pay compensation to individuals who suffered a loss by reason of the Member State's fail ...
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indirect Effect
European Union law