Commission of the European Union v. Republic of Ireland

Advocate General Poiares Maduro concluded that Ireland breached the EC and Euratom Treaties by asking a UN body to intervene in its dispute with the UK over that country’s Sellafield nuclear plant. Dublin argues that the plant pollutes the Irish sea and contravenes environmental regulations under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos). It lodged a case with the Convention's tribunal in 2001. The tribunal accepted the case but then halted proceedings amid uncertainty over its legal standing. The ECJ should indeed be Ireland's only recourse according to the AG: "Member states are not allowed to act outside the [EC/Euratom] context simply because they consider that such a course of action would be more appropriate".. If the advisor's opinion is backed by the ECJ Ireland would be forced to drop its case at the UN tribunal.