Summary
Parties
Subject of the case
Grounds
Decision on costs
Operative part
Keywords
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1 . PRELIMINARY RULING - JURISDICTION OF THE COURT - LIMITS
( ARTICLE 177, EEC TREATY )
2 . SOCIAL SECURITY OF MIGRANT WORKERS - DEATH GRANT - PENSION - DIFFERENT MEANINGS
( REGULATION NO 1408/71 OF THE COUNCIL, ARTICLE 1 )
3 . SOCIAL SECURITY OF MIGRANT WORKERS - WIDOW - RE-MARRIAGE - SETTLEMENT GRANT - MEANING - TREATED AS A PENSION
( REGULATION NO 1408/71 OF THE COUNCIL, ARTICLE 1 )
Summary
1 . THE COURT HAS NO JURISDICTION UNDER ARTICLE 177 OF THE EEC TREATY TO GIVE A RULING ON THE INTERPRETATION OF PROVISIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW WHICH BIND MEMBER STATES OUTSIDE THE FRAMEWORK OF COMMUNITY LAW .
2 . DEATH GRANT IS NOT COVERED BY THE EXPRESSION " PENSION ".
3 . THE SETTLEMENT GRANT TO BE PAID TO A WIDOW IN THE EVENT OF REMARRIAGE MUST BE REGARDED AS IN LIEU OF THE WIDOW' S PENSION AND MUST BE TREATED AS A PENSION .
Parties
IN CASE 130/73
REFERENCE TO THE COURT UNDER ARTICLE 177 OF THE EEC TREATY BY THE LANDESSOZIALGERICHT BADEN-WUERTTEMBERG FOR A PRELIMINARY RULING IN THE ACTION PENDING BEFORE THAT COURT BETWEEN
1 . MAGDALENA VANDEWEGHE, WIDOW,
2 . SOLANGE VERHELLE,
BOTH RESIDENT AT INGELMUNSTER, BELGIUM,
3 . MINISTRY FOR PUBLIC HEALTH AND FAMILY, BRUSSELS,
AND
BERUFSGENOSSENSCHAFT FUER DIE CHEMISCHE INDUSTRIE, HEIDELBERG,
Subject of the case
ON THE INTERPRETATION OF ARTICLE 2 OF THE SUPPLEMENTARY AGREEMENT NO 3 OF 7 DECEMBER 1957 TO THE GENERAL CONVENTION ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY AND THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM,
Grounds
1 BY ORDER DATED 26 APRIL 1973, FILED AT THE REGISTRY ON 30 APRIL 1973, THE LANDESSOZIALGERICHT BADEN-WUERTTEMBERG REFERRED TO THE COURT FOR A PRELIMINARY RULING THE QUESTION OF THE INTERPRETATION OF ARTICLE 2 OF THE SUPPLEMENTARY AGREEMENT TO NO 3 TO THE GENERAL CONVENTION ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM AND THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY .
JURISDICTION
2 THE COURT HAS NO JURISDICTION UNDER ARTICLE 177 OF THE EEC TREATY TO GIVE A RULING ON THE INTERPRETATION OF PROVISIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW WHICH BIND MEMBER STATES OUTSIDE THE FRAMEWORK OF COMMUNITY LAW .
THE COURT THUS HAS NO JURISDICTION TO GIVE A RULING ON THE QUESTIONS OF INTERPRETATION WHICH ARE RAISED BY ARTICLE 2 OF THE SUPPLEMENTARY AGREEMENT NO 3 BETWEEN BELGIUM AND GERMANY OWING TO THE FACT, IN PARTICULAR, THAT THE FRENCH AND DUTCH TEXTS USE THE EXPRESSIONS " PRESTATIONS OU FRACTIONS DE PRESTATIONS " AND " UITKERINGEN OF GEDEELTEN VAN UITKERINGEN " AS EQUIVALENT TO THE GERMAN EXPRESSION " RENTEN ODER RENTENTEILE ", WHILST THIS LATTER IS TRANSLATED ELSEWHERE IN THE AGREEMENT BY THE EXPRESSIONS " PENSIONS ET RENTES " AND " PENSIOENEN EN RENTEN ".
3 HOWEVER, IT APPEARS FROM THE ORDER OF REFERENCE THAT THE LANDESSOZIALGERICHT CONSIDERS THAT THE MEANING OF CORRESPONDING EXPRESSIONS OF COMMUNITY REGULATIONS CONCERNING SOCIAL SECURITY OF WORKERS COULD HAVE RELEVANCE TO THE INTERPRETATION OF THE AGREEMENT .
THIS COULD BE ALL THE MORE SO SINCE ANNEX II TO REGULATION NO 1408/71 OF 14 JUNE 1971 PROVIDES THAT THE SUPPLEMENTARY AGREEMENT CONTINUES TO APPLY WITHOUT BEING REPLACED BY THE PROVISIONS OF THE REGULATION AND THAT REFERENCES TO THE PROVISIONS OF OTHER CONVENTIONS CONTAINED IN ANNEX II, SUCH AS THE GENERAL CONVENTION ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY AND THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM OF 7 DECEMBER 1957, SHALL BE REPLACED BY REFERENCES TO THE CORRESPONDING PROVISIONS OF THE REGULATION .
THE DEFINITIONS GIVEN IN ARTICLE 1 ( 12 ) ( " PRESTATION " ), " PENSION " AND " RENTE " OF THE GENERAL CONVENTION TO WHICH ARTICLE 1 OF THE SUPPLEMENTARY AGREEMENT NO 3 REFERS, ARE THUS REPLACED BY THE CORRESPONDING PROVISIONS OF THE REGULATION .
THIS SITUATION IS, MOREOVER, ANALOGOUS TO THAT WHICH AROSE UNDER ANNEX D OF REGULATION NO 3 OF 25 SEPTEMBER 1958 .
4 THE QUESTION RAISED BEING CAPABLE OF BEING UNDERSTOOD AS CONCERNING THE INTERPRETATION OF COMMUNITY PROVISIONS, THE COURT HAS JURISDICTION TO GIVE A RULING .
ON THE SUBSTANCE
5 IT IS ASKED IN THE FIRST PLACE WHETHER THE EXPRESSION " PENSION " ALSO REFERS TO DEATH GRANT SUCH AS THAT PROVIDED FOR BY ARTICLE 589 ( 1 ) ( 1 ) OF THE REICHSVERSICHERUNGORDNUNG .
6 ARTICLE 1 OF REGULATION NO 1408/71 CLEARLY DISTINGUISHES " DEATH GRANT " ON THE ONE HAND FROM " BENEFITS " AND " PENSIONS " ON THE OTHER HAND .
ARTICLE 1 ( V ) DEFINES " DEATH GRANT " AS MEANING ANY ONCE-FOR-ALL PAYMENT IN THE EVENT OF DEATH, EXCLUSIVE OF THE LUMP-SUM BENEFITS WHICH MAY BE PAID IN LIEU OF PENSIONS .
IT APPEARS, MOREOVER, FROM TITLE 3, CHAPTER 5, HEADED " DEATH GRANTS ", THAT THEY ARE SUBJECT TO DIFFERENT RULES FROM THOSE PROVIDED FOR PENSIONS .
7 THE APPROPRIATE ANSWER IS THUS THAT DEATH GRANTS ARE NOT INCLUDED IN " PENSION ".
8 IT IS FURTHER ASKED WHETHER THE SETTLEMENT GRANT TO BE PAID TO THE WIDOW IN THE EVENT OF REMARRIAGE, SUCH AS THAT PROVIDED UNDER ARTICLE 615 RVO, IS COVERED BY THE WORD " PENSION ".
ARTICLE 1 ( T ) OF REGULATION NO 1408/71 PROVIDES THAT " BENEFITS " AND " PENSIONS " MEAN ALL BENEFITS AND PENSIONS " ... AS ALSO LUMP-SUM BENEFITS WHICH MAY BE PAID IN LIEU OF PENSIONS ... ".
THE QUESTION IS THUS WHETHER THE SETTLEMENT GRANT TO BE PAID TO THE WIDOW IN THE EVENT OF REMARRIATE IS A LUMP-SUM BENEFIT PAID IN LIEU OF A PENSION .
IT IS PROPER TO REGARD THE AIM AND OBJECT OF SUCH A SETTLEMENT GRANT AS BEING ON THE ONE HAND NOT TO DISCOURAGE WIDOWS FROM REMARRYING BY THE LOSS OF THEIR RIGHT TO A WIDOW' S PENSION IN THE EVENT OF REMARRIAGE AND ON THE OTHER HAND TO LIGHTEN THE OBLIGATIONS OF THE INSTITUTION LIABLE FOR THE PAYMENTS BY PROVIDING FOR THE PAYMENT OF A LUMP-SUM IN LIEU OF PERIODICAL PAYMENTS WHICH COULD LAST FOR A LONG TIME .
9 IT FOLLOWS THAT SUCH A SETTLEMENT GRANT MUST BE REGARDED AS IN LIEU OF A WIDOW' S PENSION AND MUST THUS BE TREATED AS A PENSION .
Decision on costs
10 THE COSTS INCURRED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, WHICH HAS SUBMITTED OBSERVATIONS TO THE COURT, ARE NOT RECOVERABLE, AND AS THESE PROCEEDINGS ARE, IN SO FAR AS PARTIES TO THE MAIN ACTION ARE CONCERNED, IN THE NATURE OF A STEP IN THE ACTION PENDING BEFORE A NATIONAL COURT, THE DECISION ON COSTS IS A MATTER FOR THAT COURT .
Operative part
THE COURT
IN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION REFERRED TO IT BY THE LANDESSOZIALGERICHT BADEN-WUERTTEMBERG BY ORDER OF THAT COURT DATED 26 APRIL 1973, HEREBY RULES :
THE PROVISIONS OF REGULATION NO 1408/71 MUST BE INTERPRETED AS MEANING THAT THE EXPRESSION " PENSION " INCLUDES THE SETTLEMENT GRANT TO BE PAID TO A WIDOW IN THE EVENT OF REMARRIAGE, BUT NOT A DEATH GRANT .
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy