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CJEU Case C-434/09 / Judgment

Shirley McCarthy v Secretary of State for the Home Department
Deciding body type
Court of Justice of the European Union
Deciding body
Court (Third Chamber)
Type
Decision
Decision date
05/05/2011
ECLI (European case law identifier)
ECLI:EU:C:2011:277

Eiropas Savienības Pamattiesību harta

Title II: Freedoms

Article 15 - Freedom to choose an occupation and right to engage in work

Title V: Citizens' rights

Article 45 - Freedom of movement and of residence

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  • CJEU Case C-434/09 / Judgment
    Key facts of the case:
     
    Reference for a preliminary ruling from null.

    Freedom of movement for persons – Article 21 TFEU – Directive 2004/38/EC – ‘Beneficiary’ – Article 3(1) – National who has never made use of his right of free movement and has always resided in the Member State of his nationality – Effect of being a national of another Member State – Purely internal situation.
     
    Outcome of the case:
     

    On those grounds, the Court (Third Chamber) hereby rules:

    Article 3(1) of Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States amending Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 and repealing Directives 64/221/EEC, 68/360/EEC, 72/194/EEC, 73/148/EEC, 75/34/EEC, 75/35/EEC, 90/364/EEC, 90/365/EEC and 93/96/EEC, must be interpreted as meaning that that directive is not applicable to a Union citizen who has never exercised his right of free movement, who has always resided in a Member State of which he is a national and who is also a national of another Member State.

    Article 21 TFEU is not applicable to a Union citizen who has never exercised his right of free movement, who has always resided in a Member State of which he is a national and who is also a national of another Member State, provided that the situation of that citizen does not include the application of measures by a Member State that would have the effect of depriving him of the genuine enjoyment of the substance of the rights conferred by virtue of his status as a Union citizen or of impeding the exercise of his right of free movement and residence within the territory of the Member States.

  • Paragraphs referring to EU Charter

    27) As a preliminary point, it should be observed that citizenship of the Union confers on each Union citizen a primary and individual right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, subject to the limitations and restrictions laid down by the Treaties and the measures adopted for their implementation, freedom of movement for persons being, moreover, one of the fundamental freedoms of the internal market, which was also reaffirmed in Article 45 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (Case C‑162/09 Lassal [2010] ECR I‑0000, paragraph 29).