Dear European Court of Justice,

Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:

Can you please help me with this issue, i have brought my car to Cyprus a eu member state, my car in the uk is worth about £2000
they want over 3ooo euros import duty on this
I have owned the car for over 10 years i am sure all duty has been paid in the uk
I have been told this tax is illegal and Cyprus receives fines from the Eu for this but Typical Cyprus takes more money in taxes than the fines.
As far as i was led to believe i am free to use my car anywhere in the eu but it is recommended that after 6 months i am to register it there,

Yours faithfully,

Simon Banks

simon banks

Registry ECJ, Tribunal de Justicia de la Unión Europea

In reply to your e-mail, it seems appropriate to give some information about the duties and jurisdiction of the Court.

The Court of Justice ensures that in the interpretation and application of the Treaties the law is observed. The interpretation and application of provisions of the national law of the Member States do not form part of its duties. Neither can it hear and determine actions for breach of the European Convention on Human Rights by the authorities of the Signatory States; the Court of Justice is not to be confused with the European Court of Human Rights (see the latter's website at: www.echr.coe.int).

The Court of Justice is not a court of appeal from the national courts and cannot declare their judgments void or vary them.

Private persons may bring proceedings against an institution of the European Union only before the General Court and not before the Court of Justice. In such proceedings representation by a lawyer entitled to practise in a Member State is compulsory.

Disputes with Member States or their authorities, or between private persons fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the national courts. This is so even where questions of European Union law are concerned. A court of a Member State may (or in certain circumstances, must), however, refer to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling on questions of European Union law. The parties themselves have no such right.

The Registrar of the Court of Justice is thus unable to take any steps with regard to your e-mail.

For further information regarding the jurisdiction and the work of the Court, please visit the Court's website at: www.curia.europa.eu

In the alternative please consult SOLVIT's website where you might find an answer to your question:

http://ec.europa.eu/solvit/

SOLVIT is an on-line problem solving network in which EU Member States work together to solve without legal proceedings problems caused by the misapplication of Internal Market law by public authorities. There is a SOLVIT centre in every European Union Member State (as well as in Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein). SOLVIT Centres can help with handling complaints from both citizens and businesses. They are part of the national administration and are committed to providing real solutions to problems within ten weeks. Using SOLVIT is free of charge.

For the Registrar