Betekenis van:
equality before the law

Voorbeeldzinnen

1. respect for the principle of equality before the law,
2. Specifically, it should be applied with due respect for the freedom to conduct a business, equality before the law and the principle of non-discrimination, the right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial and the principles of legality and proportionality of criminal offences and penalties, in accordance with Articles 16, 20, 21, 47 and 49 of the Charter.
3. Nevertheless, they have acknowledged that in applying the procedure laid down in the Law of 16 July 1980 the representative of the State is bound by the requirement of continuity of public service, which means that the State might have strict liability for a breach of the principle of equality before public burdens, as will be shown below.
4. In recital 59 of the opening decision, the Commission took the view that the proposal by the French authorities to amend the Decree implementing the Law of 16 July 1980‘does not exclude the possibility that, where the resources of La Poste are exhausted, the creditor who has not obtained repayment of his claim under application of the Law of 16 July 1980 could bring legal action to render the State liable on the basis of a breach of the principle of equality before public burdens’.
5. The right to equality before the law and protection against discrimination for all persons constitutes a universal right recognised by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women, the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination and the United Nations Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, to which all Member States are signatories.
6. Third, the French authorities’ expert concludes that the debts contracted by La Poste since the entry into force, on 1 January 2005, of the Organic Law governing the Finance Act (‘LOLF’) do not qualify for an implied guarantee. With regard to debts contracted before that date and whose lifetime extends beyond it, the expert acknowledges that two views are possible. On the first view, the Constitutional Council has found that guarantees do not lapse merely because they are not expressly authorised by the Finance Act, and the constitutional grounds on which it made this finding, in particular the principle of equality before public burdens and the right of property, apply to guarantees whether express or implied.