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[OT] Taking a government to the European Court.
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As per subject.
My principles are getting narky and want to do something about it. I
want to take the French government to court over the Motorcycle 100BHP
limit. How do I do it? If it's feasible, I'll get the FFMC and FEMA
involved.
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The first question would be: which 'European Court'?
The European Court of Justice, i.e. the judicial branch of the
European Community, is concerned only with Community law. I think
you'd be hard pressed to identify an infringement of European Law
here.
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What about free movement of goods in the EU? I suppose the comeback
would be that I could always buy a bike in A.N.Other country but have
to get it restricted afterward, so France isn't really breaking the law.
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Actually, this is how the French governement was dragged into accepting
trikes and small quads on the road.
Sorry, had to left out u.r.l, not available on by my news server, but
didn't you mean uk.legal anyway (can't see anything recreational in
"legal" unless you have a perversion which involves wigs)?
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2 problems:
(i) The restriction doesn't really discriminate materially against
Member State manufacturers of motorcycles (and if it did, surely they
would be best placed to fight it)
(ii) The purpose of the restriction isn't to protect French commercial
interests.
There was a French case in the ECJ, quite a few years back, involving
imposition of a punitive road tax for vehicles above a certain power
(Humblot 112/84), and France was found to be directly infringing the
Treaty. The Court found against France because the threshold just
happened to be set at a point where no French vehicles would be
affected, and a lot of other European (i.e. German) vehicles would be.
The French (being French) replaced the single threshold with a series
of tax bands which still favoured less-powerful French cars...
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The European Court of Human Rights might be a better bet. But you'd
need to: (i) identify an infringement of the European Convention on
Human Rights; and (ii) exhaust all of your domestic remedies. The
first would rely upon a very liberal interpretation of the Convention,
and the second would take years.
In short, move elsewhere.
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Hmm, I need to speak with someone in the FFMC to see if the latter has
already been done. I doubt it though. It's not looking good, is it?
(BTW, could you leave uk.rec.legal on the x-post, as I'm interested in
their feedback too. If they wake up that is.)
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Sorry about that, but I'm posting from groups, and they don't
recognise uk.rec.legal, and so won't let me send the post if I leave
it in.
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That'll be because it doesn't exist. Remove the ".rec".
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Oh yes, go for it. How? Haven't the foggiest.
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Is it worth the grief?
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Well, it means that the Frogs will have access to fast machinery at
last. A bit like giving a bottle of vodka to an alkie, really, so I'd
say yes.
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Yes, yes, I know I've posted to uk.rec.legal, but they should give me
the same reply as fr.misc.droit, but in English.
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LOL! Freudian slip?
uk.legal may have been your intention. I'm sure that MI5 nutter has
plenty to say on the matter.
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Remove the limiter on the bike. Give the finger to any plod patrol you
come across, until one of them decides to fine you for the
over-the-limit engine. Then you have a case, go to "Tribunal
Administratif" which will likley coinfirm the fine, then you are in a
position to appeal to the EC.
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Heh, we're going down the road that my bike is restricted again,
aren't we. :-)
Nice idea, but if I was in a position to do this, they'd probably
confiscate the bike too, no? I was told, on one of my stops to chat to
the police, that they could impound the bike even for a small number
plate.
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Bad form, etc, but do people in uk.legal have any clues or pointers on
this?
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Yes, 'cos the French and English legal systems are so similar ...
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At the level of the European Court, they will be, YTC.
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So what does uk.rec.legal think about this, as someone dropped them off
the post?
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Erm, no.
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If you remember, I made that point in cases where the country in question
had signed and ratified treaties which then superceded national law. The
UN Charter was the example I cited.
To the best of my knowledge, there is no piece of international legislation
which would be enforceable in the case of limiting the power of bikes.
Maybe they'll try human rights, but who's going to believe that limiting
the power of your bike, is a violation of your human rights?
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What's the maximum permissible power for a motor-car under French law?
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It is thus French law which will apply, and I refer you to my original
response in this thread.
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I think the whole point was that it was to the European court.
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Is that not the concern of the European Court?
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Is that in your fictional experience as the Procurator-General?
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