Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 15 April 2010 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Verwaltungsgerichtshof — Austria) — Friedrich G. Barth v Bundesministerium für Wissenschaft und Forschung

(Case C-542/08) (1)

(Freedom of movement for persons - Workers - Equal treatment - Special length-of-service increment for university professors provided for by national legislation held to be incompatible with Community law by a judgment of the Court - Limitation period - Principles of equivalence and effectiveness)

2010/C 148/12

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Verwaltungsgerichtshof

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Friedrich G. Barth

Defendant: Bundesministerium für Wissenschaft und Forschung

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Verwaltungsgerichtshof — Interepretation of Art. 39 EC and Art. 7(1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 of 15 October 1968 on freedom of movement for workers within the Community (OJ English Special Edition 1968 (II), p. 475) — National legislation providing for a special length-of-service increment for university professors, the incompatibility of which with Community law, in its earlier version, was established in Case C-224/01 Köbler — Amended legislation which, by suspending the time-limit for taking advantage of the rights at issue only as from the date of that Court judgment, disadvantages professors who were deprived of that increment by reason of the previous legislation incompatible with Community law

Operative part of the judgment

European Union law does not preclude legislation such as that at issue in the main proceedings making claims for payment of special length-of-service increments — which a worker who had exercised his rights to freedom of movement was denied prior to the delivery of the judgment of 30 September 2003 in Case C-224/01 Köbler, on the basis of a domestic law incompatible with Community law — subject to a three-year limitation rule.

(1)  OJ C 90, 18.4.2009.