Brussels, 13/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - Member states may not set a maximum age for the recruitment of local police officers, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled in a judgment (case C-416/13) delivered on Thursday 13 November.
A law in force in the principality of Asturias (Spain) sets the maximum age for recruitment of local police officers at 30. Following the reasoning of the Advocate General in his opinion (see EUROPE 11128), the Court ruled that the directive on equality of treatment in employment and labour prohibits any such rules. Local police officers are, certainly, required to have certain physical capacities in carrying out certain tasks but there is nothing to allow it to be assumed that execution of these tasks must correspond to a determined age group. It must not be forgotten, the Court points out, that applicants must pass physical tests, thus providing a sufficient guarantee that their physical condition corresponds with employment needs. Therefore, limiting recruitment to persons under the age of 30 is clearly, in the Court's view, disproportionate. (JK)