Ireland

European Commission: Request to Ireland to Ratify the Paris Act 1971

IRIS 2003-8:1/10

Sabina Gorini

Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam

The European Commission has sent a reasoned opinion to Ireland (under Article 228 of the EC Treaty) requesting it to comply with the judgment of the European Court of Justice of 19 March 2002, regarding its failure to ratify the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (Paris Act 1971).

EU and EEA Member States undertook to adhere to the Paris Act by January 1995. Ireland, however, failed to do so and the Commission opened infringement proceedings against it. The matter was referred to the European Court of Justice, which ruled that by failing to adhere to the Paris Act by the prescribed date, Ireland had failed to fulfil its obligations under the EC Treaty. As Ireland has still not ratified the Paris Act, the Commission is requesting it to do so in order to comply with the Court's judgment, failing which the Commission could ask the Court to impose a fine.


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This article has been published in IRIS Legal Observations of the European Audiovisual Observatory.