European Court of Justice on the Free Movement of Workers Essay

European Court of Justice on the Free Movement of Workers - Essay Example e territory of Member States for this purpose; (c) to stay in a Member State for the purpose of employment in accordance with the provisions governing the employment of nationals of that State laid down by law, regulation or administrative action; (d) to remain in the territory of a Member State after having been employed in that State, subject to conditions which shall be embodied in implementing regulations to be drawn up by the Commission. 4. The provisions of this article shall not apply to employment in the public service. The freedom of movement for workers is one of the four essential economic freedoms guaranteed under the treaty; namely, free movement of goods, services, labour and capital. This right has both the ‘horizontal effect’ and the ‘vertical direct effect’. This effectively means that a private citizen cannot only move against state or governmental agencies, but also seek redressal for infringement by private and non-governmental persons. ( Case C-415/93)4. Historical Background In 1952, the European Coal and Steel Community, (ECSC) contained the first provision with respect to some basic measures aimed at facilitating the free movement of workers within the EU. This provision required the member states to remove any and all nationality-based restrictions for the citizens with respect to employment within the coal and steel industry. However, this provision also stipulated that only qualified workers within the coal and steel sectors were accorded this privilege and not any other skilled workforce. The most monumental development as far the free movement of workers is concerned happened in the year 1957 with the creation of the European Economic Community.5 Art. 39 of the EC Treaty empowered workers within the EC to accept any offers of... The paper tells that in 1952, the European Coal and Steel Community, (ECSC) contained the first provision with respect to some basic measures aimed at facilitating the free movement of workers within the EU. This provision required the member states to remove any and all nationality-based restrictions for the citizens with respect to employment within the coal and steel industry. However, this provision also stipulated that only qualified workers within the coal and steel sectors were accorded this privilege and not any other skilled workforce. The most monumental development as far the free movement of workers is concerned happened in the year 1957 with the creation of the European Economic Community. Art. 39 of the EC Treaty empowered workers within the EC to accept any offers of employment made by any other member state. As a natural corollary, it also empowered such persons to move freely within the EC Community as well as reside and remain within such state for the purposes of e mployment. However, it is also pertinent to note that these rights were accorded with certain reasonable limitations which were duly justified on the grounds of public policy, public security, public health and the like. The right was also not applicable in the case of employment in public service. While it is evident that these restrictions are not merely based on purely economic considerations, and also take into account certain sociological elements, the fine print with respect to the restriction is actually contained in the two implicit limitations which have been concealed within the justified ground of public policy.