UK reacts angrily to ECJ’s fishing verdict

Date: 07/03/1996

By Fiona McHugh

IN a landmark judgement which has infuriated the UK, the European Court of Justice ruled this week that governments which break EU law should compensate individuals for any resulting damage.

The verdict, which will probably open the door to a flood of compensation cases, could end up costing the UK government millions of ecu.

According to the European judges, London acted illegally when it refused to grant a licence to a group of Spanish fishing companies to fish in British waters because of their nationality and must now pay compensation.

UK Fisheries Minister Tony Baldry has condemned the verdict, promising to challenge it during the Intergovernmental Conference.

“Clearly it is crazy if, for example, a Spanish-owned, Spanish-crewed and Spanish-skippered trawler, fishing out of Spain and landing her catch in Spain, is able to fish against our national UK quota,” he said, adding: “This cannot continue. But because of the confusion over the rights of freedom of association under EU law, as demonstrated in this case, the European Court has found in favour of the quota-hoppers, so action has to be taken.

“We have decided to raise this at the IGC. If treaty changes are needed, we will seek them. If new protocols are needed, we will seek them. But as far as we are concerned, our new charter of the seas is that UK fish should be for UK fishermen.”

According to Baldry, some 150 “quota-hoppers”, who account for 20&percent; of the UK's total allowable catch, are registered in the UK.

The judges established the principle that “member states are obliged to make good damage caused to individuals by breaches of Community law attributable to the state”.

They decided that “the rule of law infringed must be intended to confer rights on individuals, the breach must be sufficiently serious and, there must be a direct causal link between the breach of the obligation resting on the state and the damage sustained by the injured parties”, before compensation is awarded.

But they did not say whether, and to what extent, individuals should be compensated, preferring instead to leave that to national courts, which should ensure that the sums awarded are “commensurate with the loss or damage sustained”.

The ruling says that the UK manifestly and gravely broke EU law when it made registration of fishing vessels subject to nationality. That means London could end up paying between 300,000 and 700,000 ecu for each Spanish vessel which was obliged to stay in dock.

Bonn may also face substantial claims following the court's decision that a ban on the sale of 'substandard' French beer in Germany was illegal.

Under EU rules, products which are lawfully marketed or sold in one member state automatically qualify for sale in every other member state.