ECJ Advocate General Opinion : German legislation setting an age limit for practicing as panel state dentist is legitimate

12 November 2009

Background
On attaining the age of 68, Ms Petersen was told that she could no longer practise as a dentist admitted to Germany’s panel of state dentists. The German court, on hearing Ms Petersen’s appeal, found that the national law behind the decision was not contrary to the German Constitution. This was because there were important policy decisions justifying an age limit in this area, namely preserving the financial balance of the statutory health insurance system and ensuring that future dentists could enter the profession. The question of legality under Directive 2000/78 on the establishment of a general framework for equal treatment in employment and labour was referred to the Court.

Opinion
The Advocate General considered that both justifications put forward by the German government were legitimate objectives and capable of constituting exceptions to the general rule against age discrimination in Directive 2000/78. German law provides certain exceptions to the general age barrier to ensure, among other things, that dentists obtained a pension and to countermand the scarcity of dentists in certain regions. These exceptions were found not to undermine the German position that the age limit had been imposed, in part, to preserve the financial balance of the health system.

Further information

Developments from the European Court of Justice (PDF, 408kb) - page 18