Why Is It Better to Treat Every Provision of EU Directives as Having Horizontal Direct Effect?

Abstract

The provisions of EU directives do not have horizontal direct effect. This contribution explains how that initial choice and statement made by the Court of Justice of the European Union in Marshall came to be gradually undermined by the numerous exceptions to this rule. If viewed together, they make one wonder about the nature of the present-day rule and the exceptions, in particular in areas like employment law or various aspects of prohibition of discrimination. This leads to the advice that could be given to national practitioners, puzzled about the present-day normative impact of directives in horizontal relationships: after the lapse of the transposition period, it is prudent to treat every provision of a EU directive as having horizontal direct effect. Court of Justice of the European Union, Marshall, Normative Impact of Directives, Employment Law, Horizontal Direct Effect