The European Court of Justice decides on matters of dispute between EU member states.
The Court of Justice (ECJ) is based in Luxembourg.
Its job is to make sure that EU legislation is interpreted and applied in the same way in all EU countries.
The Court also makes sure that EU member states and institutions do what the law requires. The Court has the power to settle legal disputes between EU member states, EU institutions, businesses and individuals.
The European Court of Justice has a long history of making and enforcing decisions about direct taxation including Corporation Tax.
See Tax Lawyer Loyens and Loeff newsletter under direct taxation.
On October 12, 2007, the The EU Commissioner for Tax, spoke at an international conference on "The Future of Company Taxation in Europe" organised by the Austrian Ministry of Finance. While speaking on CCCTB, Lázló Kovács told his listeners that (cf page 7):
"I want to remind you of the growing number of decisions by the European Court of Justice in the field of company taxation and the effects these rulings have had on Member States tax systems."
Primacy of the ECJ and EU law
Declaration 17 titled " The Declaration Concerning Primacy" - which is attached to the Lisbon Treaty. This draws attention to the case-law of the EU Court of Justice, where in several ECJ judgements over the years the Court makes reference to the primacy of EU law, the direct effect of EU law, the superiority of EU law over national Constitutions as well as statute law, and the fact that the European Community is a "distinct constitutional order". EC/EU law is superior only in the areas covered by the Treaties of course, where lower States have surrendered their right to decide.
Lisbon Declaration 17 concerning primacy provides that: "The Conference recalls that, in accordance with well settled case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the Treaties and the law adopted by the Union on the basis of the Treaties have primacy over the law of Member States, under the conditions laid down by the said case law."
