21In that regard, it must be borne in mind that, according to settled case-law of the Court, although a directive cannot of itself impose obligations on an individual and cannot therefore be relied on as such against an individual (see, in particular, judgments of 24 January 2012 in Dominguez, C‑282/10, EU:C:2012:33, paragraph 37 and the case-law cited, and 15 January 2015 in Ryanair, C‑30/14, EU:C:2015:10, paragraph 30), where a person is able to rely on a directive not as against an individual but as against the State he may do so regardless of the capacity in which the latter is acting. It is necessary to prevent the State from taking advantage of its own failure to comply with EU law (see, to that effect, judgments of 24 January 2012 in Dominguez, C‑282/10, EU:C:2012:33, paragraph 38 and the case-law cited, and 12 December 2013 in Portgás, C‑425/12, EU:C:2013:829, paragraph 23).
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