§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Attorney-General why Her Majesty's Government have decided to take action against the European Assembly in the European Court under article 173 of the treaty of Rome which provides the court with jurisdiction over the actions of the Council of Ministers and the Commission; and if he will make a statement.
§ The Solicitor-GeneralIn its application to the European Court of Justice, the United Kingdom, in common with the views shared by the Council and the other Member states bringing actions against the European Assembly, contends that, despite the apparently restrictive wording of Article 173 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community and Article 146 of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, those provisions on their true construction extend to Acts of the European Assembly. The United Kingdom also relies upon Article 38 of the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community. which expressly confers jurisdiction on the European Court to declare an act of the Assembly to be void. As the budget of the European Communities covers expenditure of all three Communities, the application refers to jurisdictional bases in each of the three treaties.