Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2016:557
Date: 2016-07-14
Language of the case: Italian
Court formation: Ninth Chamber
Subject matter: Provisions governing the Institutions;Access to documents
Procedure: Action for annulment;Appeal - unfounded
Origin: Italy

Judgment of the Court (Ninth Chamber) of 14 July 2016 — Sea Handling v Commission (Case C‑271/15 P) (1) Appeal — Public right of access to documents of the EU institutions — Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 — Third indent of Article 4(2) — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Incorrect interpretation — Obligation to state reasons — Documents relating to a procedure for reviewing State aid — Protection of the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits — General presumption of application of the exception to the right of access to all documents in the administrative file — Scope of the presumption of confidentiality — Application for access to the complaint which gave rise to an inquiry procedure — Refusal of access — Overriding public interest 1. Institutions of the European Union — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Protection of the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits — Scope — Application to administrative files relating to procedures for reviewing State aid — General presumption that the exception applies to the right of access to all the documents on the administrative file — Request concerning only certain documents in the file — No effect (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(2), third indent) (see paras 36, 37, 41, 54) 2. Institutions of the European Union — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Protection of the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits — Scope — Application to administrative files relating to procedures for reviewing State aid — Maintaining the presumption after the procedure has been closed (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(2), third indent) (see paras 44-46) 3. Institutions of the European Union — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Refusal to grant access — Whether possible to rely on general presumptions applicable to certain categories of documents — No obligation to examine individually each document concerned by a request for general access (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4) (see para. 69) 4. Institutions of the European Union — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Period prescribed for responding to an application for access to documents — Exceeded — Consequences — Possibility for the applicant to make a confirmatory application (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 7) (see para. 76, 77) 5. Institutions of the European Union — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Period prescribed for responding to an application for access to documents — Exceeded — Implied rejection decision capable of being challenged before the courts (Art. 263 TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 8(1) and (3)) (see paras 83, 84) 6. Institutions of the European Union — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Public interest justifying the disclosure of documents — Invocation of the principle of transparency — Need to put forward particular considerations in relation to the case (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(2)) (see para. 95) 7. Institutions of the European Union — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Overriding public interest justifying the disclosure of documents — Definition — Pursuit of an action for annulment — Not included (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(2)) (see paras 97, 98) Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the appeal. 2. Orders Sea Handling SpA to pay the costs. 1 OJ C 311, 21.9.2015.