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at the higher rate for overseas students.
MacMahon brought proceedings in the High Court
claiming that these provisions were contrary to the
articles on free movement of workers and the relevant
EEC Directive. It was conceded that MacMahon was a
worker, and Dillon, J., having examined the Community
provisions and the arguments of the Department seeking
to justify the residence requirement and the higher fees for
foreign students, concluded that they amounted to covert
discrimination, and held that the three-year residence rule
and the higher scale fee could not lawfully be applied to
MacMahon who was covered by Article 7(3) of EEC
Directive 1612/68.
One interesting feature of many of the cases relating to
security rights of EEC nationals which are referred to the
Court of Justice in Luxembourg is that they may be
referred by administrative tribunals or officials in the
different Member States. The equivalent in Ireland would
be a deciding officer or appeals officer, or possibly the
chief appeals officer of the Department of Social Welfare.
It is not at all clear whether the civil servants exercising
the functions of these offices would be aware that they
would have the capacity to refer questions of law to the
Court of Justice under Article 177 for a preliminary
ruling. A similar point arises with regard to the next area
to be examined, the impact of Community law on equality
between the sexes. It will be noted that there have been a
number of references from the Employment Appeal
Tribunal in the U
.K.,
arising out of equality cases on
which a ruling has been sought by the Court of Justice.
Again, the question may be posed as to whether the
Labour Court is fully aware of this potential jurisdiction,
and secondly, is prepared — if so aware — to exercise its
discretion in appropriate cases to seek a preliminary
ruling from the Court of Justice.
Footnotes
1. Council Directive 63/261/EEC, O.J.
Sp.Ed. (1963-64) p. 19
Council Directive 63/262/EEC, O.J.
Sp.Ed.(1963-64) p.22
Council Directive 67/530/EEC, O.J.
Sp.Ed. (1967) p.228
Council Directive 67/531/EEC, O.J.
Sp.Ed. (1967) p.230
Council Directive 67/654/EEC, O.J.
Sp.Ed. (1967) p.287.
2. Council Directive 63/261/EEC
3. Council Directive 63/262/EEC.
4. Case 2/74, [1974] ECR 631 at p.652.
5. S.I. 144 of 1983.
6. See further —
Mary Laffoy "Section 45 of the Land Act and the Right of Establish-
ment in European Communities" Journal of I.S.E.L. Vol. 6 (1982-
83) p.26.
Finbarr Murphy "Section 45 of the Land Act 1965 and the Right of
Establishment in Community Law". Journal of I.S.E.L. Vol. 6
(1982-83) p.32.
7. Case 182/83, Judgment delivered on 6 November 1984.
8. The word SEDOC used in all the languages of the Community
comes from the abbreviation of the French title "Systeme Européen
de Diffusion des Offres et des Demandes d'Emploi Enregistrées en
Compensation Internationale" (European System for the Interna-
tional Clearing of Vacancies and Applications for Employment).
9. Booklets giving details of the provisions relating to social security in
the different Member States can be obtained from the Department of
Social Welfare.
10. Case 1/78, [1978] ECR 1489.
11. Case 143/79, [1980] ECR 1639.
12. The Decision of Social Security Commissioner (formerly National
Insurance Officer) is reported in [1984] CMLR 398.
13. For a full analysis of this area see:
Philippa Watson "Social Security Law of the European
Community" 1980 Mansell Publishing.
14. Judgment of High Court (Chancery Div.) 16 July 1982, reported in
[1982]3 CMLR 91.
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