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Commission of the European Communities v United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (22 April 1999) European Court of Justice C-340/96

United Kingdom
13/08/1999
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This case involved an action by the European Commission against the UK for failure to fulfil its obligations under Directive 80/778/EEC relating to the quality of water intended for human consumption. This Directive requires Member States to take the necessary measures to ensure that water intended for specified requirements is of sufficient quality. The UK had implemented the Directive into its national law by means of the Water Industry Act 1991. Under Section 18 of this Act, the Secretary of State has the power to make an enforcement order where a water company supplies impure water. However, such an order is unnecessary if the Secretary of State is satisfied that the company has given an undertaking to take appropriate steps to secure or facilitate compliance with the relevant rules. The Commission complained that due to the provision for and use of such undertakings in the Water Industry Act 1991, there was no enforcement of the water companies' compliance with the standards required in the Directive. The European Court of Justice therefore found that UK's acceptance of undertakings from water companies for the purpose of ensuring that water complied with the requirements of Directive 80/778 and the absence of conditions governing the acceptance of such undertakings, meant that the UK had failed to fulfil its obligations under the Treaty of Rome and the Directive.
(Times Law Reports, 13 April 1999)

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