1. This note concerns the transposition of Directive 2000/84/EC of the European Parliament and the Council on summer-time arrangements, adopted on 19 January 2001 (OJ No. L31, 2.2.01, p.21).
2. Directive 2000/84/EC ("the Directive") follows a series of Community directives fixing the date on which summer time begins and ends in particular years. The last of these, the Eighth Directive on summer-time arrangements (Directive 97/44/EC), provided for the period of summer time to run from the last Sunday in March until the last Sunday in October in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001.
3. The recitals set out in Directive 2000/84 (“the Directive”) acknowledge a consensus to maintain the same period as the period of summer time, but also identify a need in certain sectors of industry for stable, long-term planning in order to function properly. Because of that, the Directive recites, provisions concerning summer time should be laid down for an unspecified period.
4. The Summer Time Order 2002 (“the Order”) transposes the Directive by amending the Summer Time Act 1972 (“the 1972 Act”). The 1972 Act specifies, in section 1(2), a particular period as the period of summer time; it also provides, in section 2, for the period to be varied in relation to any year by Order in Council. Previous summer time directives have been implemented by such Orders. In recognition of the intention underlying the Directive that the period of summer time should no longer be variable from year to year, article 2(3) of the Order repeals section 2 of the 1972 Act.
5. Article 1 of the Directive defines the period of summer time as being the period of the year during which clocks are put forward by 60 minutes compared with the rest of the year. It is not necessary to transpose this provision, as it is consistent with section 1(1) of the 1972 Act. Section 1(1) provides that summer time is one hour in advance of Greenwich Mean Time.
6. Article 2 of the Directive provides for the period of summer time to begin at 1.00am GMT on the last Sunday in March, and article 3 provides for the period to end at 1.00am GMT on the last Sunday in October. Those provisions are transposed without elaboration in a new section 1(2) of the 1972 Act that is substituted by article 2(2)(b) of the Order. As originally enacted, section 1(2) provided for summer time to begin at 2.00am GMT on the Sunday following the third Sunday in March, or the preceding Sunday if that Sunday was Easter Day. It provided for summer time to end at 2.00am GMT on the Sunday following the fourth Saturday in October.
7. The remaining provisions of the Directive do not require transposition
