Judgment_paragraph 23 · Portgás — Sociedade de Produção e Distribuição de Gás SA v Ministério da Agricultura, do Mar, do Ambiente e do Ordenamento do Território (C-425/12)

23So far as concerns the entities against which the provisions of a directive may be relied on, it is apparent from the Court’s case-law that those provisions may be relied on against a State, regardless of the capacity in which the latter is acting, whether as employer or public authority. In either case, it is necessary to prevent the State from being able to take advantage of its own failure to comply with European Union law (see, to that effect, Case 152/84 Marshall [1986] ECR 723, paragraph 49; Case C-188/89 Foster and Others [1990] ECR I-3313, paragraph 17; and Dominguez, paragraph 38).