Council Directive 2004/707 on transporting retired people (fictitious), adopted on 1 November 2000, requires all Member States: a. to implement measures by March 2007 giving all retired EU workers beyond the age of 65 years the right to travel within the

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Council Directive 2004/707 on transporting retired people (fictitious), adopted on 1 November 2000, requires all Member States:

  1. to implement measures by March 2007 giving all retired EU workers beyond the age of 65 years the right to travel within the Member State on all forms of domestic public transport free of charge; and

  1. to implement measures by March 2008 giving all EU workers the right to claim one complimentary flight per year to any other EU Member State from any national airline.

Sadie is a Polish national living in London who, at 65 years old, has recently retired from her job as a part-time care assistant in the local nursing home. Now that she has more time on her hands, she wishes to spend more time with her family in Birmingham by travelling by train to see them on a fortnightly basis. She asks Virgin company, the company operating the trains from London to Birmingham, to allow her to travel for free. Virgin refuses to do so.

Bill, a Spanish national was a teacher for 15 years in Spain before he moved to the UK. After working for 3 years as a secondary teacher in the UK, he decided to take life easier and stopped his job. At 55, he has agreed with friends that he will take care of their gardens as long as they cook for him afterwards. He now wishes to spend the winter of every year in Spain where the warmer climate is better for his health.

Bill goes to his Department of Transport to ask for his free flight, but his request is refused. Angry with the decision, he starts shouting, abuses staff and smashes windows. Now, the UK has found out that he was also resistant and somewhat aggressive towards a policeman in 2000, when he was found drunk walking around London. He has just received his deportation order.  

Advise Sadie and Bill as to their rights and remedies under European law.

In this essay I shall look closely at EC law and ECJ case law to determine the rights of Bill and Sadie and what remedies are available to them. Sadie is trying to exercise her right to free travel as she has retired. The Virgin Company are in charge of providing this service. Bill would also like to enforce the EU directive and get a complimentary flight; however he too has been refused by the Department for Transport. Due to his unruly behaviour he has been given a deportation order.

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The law of the EU is considered to be supreme to national law; it takes precedent over all internal legislation. As a member state the UK must give up the notion of parliamentary sovereignty and adhere to the law of the EU. This is because of the nature of the EU, it requires full cooperation from its members and so it regulates the law of the country. In the Simmenthal case the court decided that “...any national court must [...] apply community law in its entirety [...] and must accordingly set aside any provision of national law.” Courts are now ...

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A fine start but a more appropriate use of case law to illustrate legal principles would help this student achieve higher marks.