Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:1999:157
Date: 1999-07-19
Language of the case: English
Court formation: First Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Provisions governing the Institutions;Access to documents
Concepts: General;Concrete, individual examination of the documents;Contentious procedure;Partial access;Protection of the public interest
Procedure: Action for annulment - successful
Origin: Finland

Summary of the Judgment
1. Actions for annulment — jurisdiction of the Community judicature — Decision
refusing public access to documents covered by Title V of the Treaty on European
Union
(EC Treaty, Arts 151(3) and 173 (now, after amendment, Arts 207(3) EC and 230 EC);
Treaty on European Union, Art. J.11 (Arts Jto J.11 of the Treaty on European Union
have been replaced by Arts 11 EU to 28 EU); Council Decision 93/731)
2. Council — Right of public access to Council documents — Decision 93/731 — Refusal
of a confirmatory application for access — Consideration of the application —
Obligation — Scope
(Council Decision 93/731, Arts 4 and 7(1))
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SUMMARY— CASE T-14/98
3. Council — Right of public access to Council documents — Decision 93/731 —
Exceptions to the principle of access to documents — Protection of the public
interest — International relations —Decisions refusing access taken by the Council on
the basis of its political responsibilities — Judicial review — Scope — Limits
(Treaty on European Union, Arts J to J.11 (Arts J to J.11 of the Treaty on European
Union have been replaced by Arts 11 EU to 28 EU); Council Decision 93/731,
Art. 4(1))
4. Council — Right of public access to Council documents — Decision 93/731 —
Exceptions to the principle of access to documents — Where a decision refusing access
is taken without first examining the possibility of partial access (to data not covered by
the exceptions) — Unlawful
(Council Decision 93/731, Art. 4(1))
1. The Court of First Instance has juris­
diction to determine an action for
annulment of a Council decision refus­
ing access to documents, even where
the documents in question have been
adopted on the basis of provisions
coming under Title V of the Treaty on
European Union concerning a common
foreign and security policy.
Decision 93/731 on public access to
Council documents applies to all Coun­
cil documents, irrespective of their
content. Under Article J.11(1) of the
Treaty on European Union (Articles J
to J. 11 of that Treaty have been
replaced by Articles 11 to 28 EU), acts
adopted pursuant to Article 151(3) of
the EC Treaty (now, after amendment,
Article 207(3) EC), which is the legal
basis for Decision 93/731, are applic­
able to measures within the scope of
Title V of the EU Treaty. Thus, in the
absence of provisions to the contrary,
documents relating to Title V of the
Treaty on European Union are covered
by Decision 93/731. Accordingly, the
fact that, under Article L of that Treaty
(now, after amendment, Article 46
EU), the Court of First Instance does
not have jurisdiction to assess the
lawfulness of acts falling within Title
V does not exclude its jurisdiction to
rule on public access to those acts.
2. It follows from the scheme of Decision
93/731 on public access to Council
documents that a decision to reject a
confirmatory application for access,
submitted pursuant to Article 7(1) of
that Decision, must be based on a
genuine examination of the particular
circumstances of the case, the purpose
of examining a confirmatory applica­
tion being to enable the Council to
determine whether disclosure of the
document falls within one of the
exceptions set out in Article 4 of Deci­
sion 93/731 and whether the general
principle that the public should have
access to Council documents must
therefore be displaced.
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HAUTALAV COUNCIL
3. When, in the exercise of its discretion,
the Council must determine the possi­
ble consequences for the international
relations of the European Union, were
a report prepared by the Working
Group on Conventional Arms Exports
to be disclosed, it does so on the basis
of the political responsibilities confer­
red on it by Title V of the Treaty on
European Union. That being so, review
by the Court of First Instance of a
decision refusing access to such a
report, on grounds of the public inter­
est exception — with regard, specifi­
cally, to international relations — pro­
vided for in Article 4(1) of Decision
93/731 on public access to Council
documents, must be limited to verify­
ing whether the procedural rules have
been complied with, whether the con­
tested decision is properly reasoned
and the facts have been accurately
stated, and whether there has been a
manifest error of assessment of the
facts or a misuse of powers.
4. The exceptions provided for in Arti­
cle 4(1) of Decision 93/731 on public
access to Council documents must be
interpreted in the light of the principle
of the right to information and the
principle of proportionality. It follows
that, before refusing access to a docu­
ment unconditionally, the Council is
obliged to examine whether partial
access should be granted, that is to
say, access to the information not
covered by the exceptions.
As regards the principle of the right to
information, Decision 93/731 seeks to
give effect to the principle of the largest
possible access for citizens to informa­
tion with a view to strengthening the
democratic character of the institutions
and the trust of the public in the
administration. Secondly, as regards
the principle of proportionality, the
aim of protecting the public interest
with regard to international relations
may be achieved even if the Council
does no more than remove, after
examination, the passages in the con­
tested report which might harm inter­
national relations.
Consequently, where the Council has
not made an examination along those
lines, a Council decision refusing access
to such a report is vitiated by an error
of law and must be annulled.
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