State liability v retroactive application of belated implementing measures: Seeking the optimum means in terms of effectiveness of EC law

In the light of some interesting decisions of the Italian Corte di Cassazione and the European Court of Justice, this article attempts to explore the prospects of the recently introduced technique of the retroactive application of belated implementing measures and its suitability as a means of attaining the objectives pursued by the EC legal order and of guaranteeing the protection of individuals' EC law rights. It especially places emphasis on its relationship with the doctrine of State liability for breach of EC law and highlights the problems many national courts face in their effort to reconcile their national laws on public liability with the requirements of the EC legal order and to apply correctly certain fundamental EC law principles.