''Amministrazione delle Finanze v Simmenthal SpA'' (1978) Case 106/77 is an
EU 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 val ...
case, concerning the conflict of law between a national legal system and European Union law.
Facts
Simmenthal SpA imported beef from
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
into
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. Italy imposed a public health inspection fee for the meat crossing the frontier under an Italian Law of 1970. This conflicted with European Community Regulations from 1964 and 1968.
Italian courts heard argument that Italian law must prevail because it was passed after the Regulations, and must be applied by the Italian courts until the law was declared unconstitutional. It referred the question of what to do in a case of conflict to the
ECJ
The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...
. The Attorney General Reischl gave an Opinion suggesting that timing of the Italian law was irrelevant, and EU law was supreme.
[651-2]
Judgment
The
ECJ
The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...
held that the national court had a duty to give full effect to Community provisions, even if a conflicting national law was adopted later.
See also
*
European Union law
Notes
{{reflist, 2
References
*G Gaja, 'New Developments in a Continuing Story: The Relationship between EEC Law and Italian Law' (1990) 27 CMLR 83
Court of Justice of the European Union case law
1978 in case law
1978 in Italy
Italian case law