About the direct effect of European union directives

According to the founding treaties of the European Union, directives do not have direct effect for individual subjects but only for the Member States which they refer to. The rights and obligations of individuals derive directly from the national measures governing the implementation of directives. Directives should produce effect only through the national acts regulating its implementation; thus, in the regular course of events, they take effect upon the application of the national law which they have been incorporated in. The problem occurs when a Member State, in violation of its obligation, either fails to implement a directive within the prescribed period or implements it incorrectly or incompletely. Faced with this problem, the Court of Justice of the EU was of the opinion that individuals can directly invoke the provisions of a directive before the national authorities, which are are obliged to ensure the exercise of rights arising from these provisions. However, the Court accepted only the vertical direct effect of a directive which is only limited to actions against the State, without allowing individual agents to invoke its provisions in proceedings against another individual subject. Although the Court has hitherto refused to recognize the horizontal direct effect of directives, it has also allowed for the possibility that this effect could be indirectly recognized in disputes between individuals, which would provide for bridging the gap between the recognized vertical effect and the unrecognized horizontal effect of directives. To that effect, the Court has resorted to constructing 'passerelle clauses' which: a) allow the Court to oblige the national authorities to interpret domestic law in accordance with the directive (indirect or interpretative effect of directives); b) enable individuals in private law disputes to call upon provisions of a directive in order to eliminate the application of conflicting national provisions (incidental or subsidiary effect of directives); c) oblige Member States to compensate individuals for damage caused by the failure to implement the directive (the Member State's liability for damage due to non-implementation of the directive).