Judgment of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) of 18 September 2015 —
Miettinen v Council
(Case T‑395/13)
Access to documents — Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 — Opinion of the Council’s legal service concerning proposals for a Directive and a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on criminal sanctions for insider dealing and market manipulation — Partial refusal of access — Exception relating to protection of legal advice — Exception relating to protection of the decision-making process
1.                     EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Strict interpretation and adoption — Obligation to make a specific and individual examination for documents covered by an exception — Scope concerning documents underlying the legislative process (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, eleventh recital and Art. 4(2) and (3)) (see paras 17-21, 58)
2.                     EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Protection of legal advice — Obligation on the institution to examine the nature of the measure as legal advice and the actual possibility of the protection of legal advice being undermined, and to verify the absence of a higher public interest justifying disclosure (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(2), second indent) (see paras 24, 25)
3.                     EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Protection of legal advice — Overriding public interest justifying the disclosure of documents — Concept — Requirement that the institution should weigh the opposing interests — Disclosure of legal opinions concerning legislative processes — Obligation on the institution to state in detail its reasons for any decision refusing access (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(2), second indent) (see paras 26, 27)
4.                     EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Protection of legal advice — Overriding public interest justifying the disclosure of documents — Concept — Risk of an institution’s capacity to defend its position in legal proceedings being undermined — Exclusion (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(2), second indent) (see para. 31)
5.                     EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Protection of legal advice — Concept — Scope — Disclosure of legal opinions concerning legislative processes — No general need for confidentiality (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(2), second indent) (see paras 35, 36, 46, 71)
6.                     EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Protection of the decision-making process — Conditions — Concrete, actual and serious detriment to that process (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(3)) (see para. 59)
Re:
APPLICATION for annulment of the Council decision of 13 May 2013 refusing full access to document No 12979/12 of 27 July 2012 containing an opinion of the Council’s Legal Service relating to the proposals for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on criminal sanctions for insider dealing and market manipulation and a Regulation on insider dealing and market manipulation and other instruments regarding the harmonisation of administrative sanctions in the framework of financial services.
Operative part
The Court:
1.
Annuls the decision of the Council of the European Union of 13 May 2013 denying full access to document No 12979/12 of 27 July 2012 containing an opinion of the Council's legal service relating to the proposals for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on criminal sanctions for insider dealing and market manipulation and a Regulation on insider dealing and market manipulation and other instruments regarding the harmonisation of administrative sanctions in the framework of financial services, and the letter of the Council of 23 July 2013;
2.
Orders the Council to bear its own costs and those incurred by Mr Samuli Miettinen;
3.
Orders the Kingdom of Sweden and the Republic of Estonia to bear their own costs.