Enforcing EU occupational health and safety rules and the basic principles of EU law: the Energotehnica case (C-792/22)

Abstract

Following the death of an electrician, two court proceedings started. An administrative law court ruled that the event was not an ‘accident at work’ and the judgment acquired the force of res judicata under national law. Consequently, the criminal court adjudicating the criminal case against the worker's manager and the civil law claims of the victim's relatives against the employer found itself unable to decide on the merits of the case, even if the latter were not parties in the administrative law proceedings. This gave the Court of Justice of the European Union the opportunity to elaborate the EU law requirements around national level enforcement of occupational safety and health (OSH) Directives. As no specific EU legislation has been adopted on the issue, the case was decided on the basis of the general principles of EU law enforcement.

The aim of the article is to present the findings of the case and to summarise the methods of OSH law enforcement, both at theoretical level and as actually provided for in EU law. The article then examines how the general principles of EU law enforcement can fill the regulatory gaps and how the judgment discussed contributes to the interpretation of such principles. The conclusion considers how legislation could contribute to a more effective enforcement of EU OSH law.