Factortame case

Factortame III state liability

At this time the ECJ had just delivered judgment in Francovich (ECLI:EU:C:1991:428), which established the principle that "a State must be liable for loss and damage caused to individuals as a result of breaches of Community law". The Factortame case provided the court for an opportunity to elaborate on the principles underlying the liability of member states. It was a case in which almost all member states intervened to deny, whether wholly or substantially, the right to claim damages; the UK accepted that there was, in principle, such a right. The EC Treaty does not deal expressly with the consequences of a breach of Community law by a member state, and so it was for the court to rule on the question having regard to "the fundamental principles of the Community legal system and, where necessary, general principles common to the legal systems of the Member States".