Facts
- A directive increased the time limit available for a social security claim to be made
- Ireland failed to implement this directive
- Had Ireland implemented the directive, Emmott’s claim would have been within the time limit
Issue
- Could Emmott recover under state liability?
Decision
- Yes
Reasoning
- A state may not take advantage of its own wrongdoing
- A state may be estopped from denying an effective remedy where the denial is caused by the Member States’ own failure to implement a directive
- The effect of this case has been limited to its own exceptional circumstances by Johnson [1994]
