European Commission – CJEU Judgment (European Union, 2001)

On the 7th December 2000, the European Commission brought an action before the Court of Justice seeking a declaration that Luxembourg had failed to implement Directive 95/46/EC (the Data Protection Directive, herein “the Directive”), and in doing so, had violated Article 32 of the Directive. Article 32(1) of the Directive required Member States to implement any local laws, regulations and administrative necessary to transpose the Directive within three years following the adoption of the Directive, and to notify the Commission of same. On 26th August 1999, the Commission issued a reasoned opinion to Luxembourg requesting that they adopt the measures necessary to transpose the Directive within two months. Luxembourg responded at the end of the stated period, stating that a preliminary draft law had been prepared for submission to the legislature and that the delay was attributable to the change in government which had occurred in that year. The Court referred to Luxembourg’s explanation for the delay, and referenced the previous decision in C-4707/98 Commission v Greece [2000]. In the Greece decision, the Court found that provisions, practices and circumstances existing in the domestic legal system of a Member State may not be successfully relied up to justify a failure to comply with obligations laid down in a Directive. The Court applied the dicta in Greece and accordingly found that Luxembourg had failed to fulfil their obligations under Article 32 of the Directive.