Brussels, 01/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - No member state may refuse to recognise a driving licence obtained in another member state on the grounds that it had previously refused to issue a licence to the driver. A member state may, however, refuse to recognise the licence if it is established, on the basis of indisputable information from the issuing member state, that the holder of the licence did not satisfy the condition of normal residence.
Thus ruled the Court of Justice of the EU in Case C-467/10 on Thursday 1 March, in response to questions put by the Giessen Regional Court (Germany), which is hearing the case of a person found guilty of driving without a licence in Germany. The person in question had had his application for a driving licence turned down in Germany in September 2008. Two months later, however, he acquired a licence in the Czech Republic. The German authorities refused to recognise the Czech licence on the grounds that they had previously refused his application and because they had doubts over whether he was, in fact, resident in the Czech Republic when the licence was delivered. The German court asked the Court of Justice about the legitimacy of these grounds.
The Court states, firstly, that EU law provides for the mutual recognition, without any formality, of driving licences issued by member states. It is for the issuing member state to investigate whether all conditions - particularly those relating to residence and fitness to drive - have been satisfied and whether the issue of a driving licence is justified. Once the authorities of one member state have thus issued a driving licence, the other member states are not entitled to investigate whether the conditions for issue laid down by EU law have been observed. (FG/transl.rt)