Vertical direct effect
Vertical direct effect is a legal doctrine developed by the European Court of Justice which allows private individuals to rely directly on Treaty provisions and EU directives in claims against the state before national courts (NV Algemene Transporten Expeditie Onderneming van Gend en Loos v. Nederlandse Administratie der Belastingen, Case 26/62).
Insofar as Treaty provisions relating to employment and industrial relations were limited, the doctrine was relatively insignificant. However, where such provisions did exist, as in the provision on equal pay between women and men in Article 157 TFEU, the impact was substantial. Moreover, when the Court held that the doctrine of vertical direct effect applied also to the substantial body of EU legal measures in the form of directives (Van Duyn v. Home Office (No. 2) [1974] ECR 1337), the implications were much greater for the field of employment and industrial relations. Employment rights contained in directives now became capable of direct enforcement against the state before national courts.
Moreover, directives could be given direct effect against the state in its many forms of public authority. The scope of the doctrine of vertical direct effect as applied to emanations of the state depends on the criteria developed by the European Court to define these emanations (Foster v. British Gas, Case C-188/89). The criteria laid down could include privatised industries or services that formerly provided public services. Employees in these industries and services may rely directly on provisions in EU directives, so that a large proportion of the national workforce can directly enforce rights contained in EU directives.
See also: horizontal direct effect; indirect effect; judicial enforcement of EU law.