Van Gend & Loos

Van Gend & Loos in Europe

Content about Van Gend & Loos from the publication “The ABC of European Union law” (2010, European Union) by Klaus-Dieter Borchardt.

In this legal dispute, the Dutch transport company Van Gend & Loos filed an action against the Netherlands customs authorities for imposing an import duty on a chemical product from Germany which was higher than duties on earlier imports. The company considered this an infringement of Article 12 of the EEC Treaty, which prohibits the introduction of new import duties or any increase in existing customs duties between the Member States. The court in the Netherlands then suspended the proceedings and referred the matter to the Court of Justice for clarification as regards the scope and legal implications of the abovementioned article of the Treaty establishing the EC.

Context of Van Gend & Loos in the European Union

The Court of Justice used this case as an opportunity to set out a number of observations of a fundamental nature concerning the legal nature of the EU. In its judgment, the Court stated that:

More about Van Gend & Loos in the European Union

‘The objective of the EEC Treaty, which is to establish a common market, the functioning of which is of direct concern to interested parties in the Community, implies that this Treaty is more than an agreement which merely creates mutual obligations between the contracting States. This view is confirmed by the preamble to the Treaty, which refers not only to governments but to peoples. It is also confirmed more specifically by the establishment of institutions endowed with sovereign rights, the exercise of which affects Member States and also their citizens … The conclusion to be drawn from this is that the Community constitutes a new legal order of international law for the benefit of which the States have limited their sovereign rights, albeit within limited fields, and the subjects of which comprise not only Member States but also their nationals.’


Posted

in

,

by

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *