DECISION No 18/97 laying down internal rules for the treatment of applications for access to documents held by the Court (98/C 295/01)

THE EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS,

Having regard to the declaration regarding the right of access to information annexed to the final act of the Treaty on European Union, which emphasises that transparency in the decision-making process strengthens the democratic nature of the institutions and the public's confidence in the administration,

Having regard to the conclusions of the Birmingham and Edinburgh European Council meetings in favour of a Community which is closer to its citizens,

Having regard to the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities, in particular Article 88 thereof,

Whereas the Court considers it advisable to adopt internal rules regarding the treatment of requests for access to the documents it holds;

Having regard to the provisions of Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 of 1 February 1983 regarding the opening to the public of the historical archives of the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community (1),

Whereas these internal rules form part of the framework of the European Communities' policy of communication and information;

Whereas these rules will have to be implemented with due respect for the provisions concerning the confidential nature of certain information,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1 General Principle

Within the framework and limits of the provisions laid down by these internal rules and of the standards governing the confidentiality of audits, the public shall have access to the Court of Auditors' documents, whether on paper or in electronic form.

Article 2 Preliminary procedures for responding to requests

1. Applications for access to a document must be submitted in writing and worded in a sufficiently precise fashion; they must contain, in particular, all the information which is required to identify the relevant document or documents.

2. All applications received by the Court of Auditors shall be forwarded to the Director of the External Relations Department and Legal Service, with copies to the President and the Secretary-General. After consultation with the Member of the Court concerned, the Director of the External Relations Department and Legal Service shall examine the admissibility of the application and decide what action shall be taken.

3. Where appropriate, the Director of the External Relations Department and Legal Service shall ask the applicant to formulate the application in greater detail. This must be done within one month of receipt of the application.

4. Access to documents shall take the form either of inspection thereof at the Court or delivery of a copy to the applicant at his/her expense. Inspections of documents shall take place on the premises of the Court of Auditors in Luxembourg; the date and time shall be agreed between the applicant and the Director of the External Relations Department and Legal Service. A standard fee of ECU 10 plus ECU 0,05 per sheet of paper shall be charged for the delivery of a copy of a paper document exceeding 30 pages, plus any postage costs incurred. The fees to be charged for other media shall be decided case by case and the applicant shall be informed in advance.

5. The applicant shall be informed in writing within a month of the date of receipt of his application, by the Director of the External Relations Department and Legal Service, of the Court's response to it. The Director of the External Relations Department and Legal Service shall find, in consultation with the applicants, an equitable solution in cases of repeat applications and/or applications concerning lengthy documents. Should an application be rejected, the reasons for rejection shall be stated and the applicant shall be informed of his right to appeal against this decision within one month, failing which the application shall be considered as withdrawn.

6. No person to whom a document is sent may reproduce or distribute the said document unless prior permission has been given in writing by the Court of Auditors.

Article 3 Treatment of appeals concerning applications which have been rejected in the first instance

1. All appeals addressed to the Court of Auditors shall be submitted to the President of the Court of Auditors with copies to the Secretary-General and to the Director of the External Relations Department and Legal Service.

2. The President of the Court of Auditors, in consultation with the ADAR Group and the Member of the Court responsible for the subject matter concerned, shall be empowered to decide on the appeals.

3. The applicant must be notified of the decision taken following an appeal within two months of the date of the appeal. The reasons for rejection must be given and the applicant must be informed of the channels of appeal that are open to him, i.e. appeal to the courts and appeal to the Ombudsman should the conditions apply which are provided for under Articles 173 and 138e respectively of the Treaty establishing the European Community.

Article 4 Special cases and exceptions

1. If the application concerns a document held by the Court of Auditors but of which the Court is not the author, the Court of Auditors shall confirm receipt of the application and supply the name of the person, institution or body to whom the application must be addressed.

2. If the requested document was or will be published in the year of application, the applicant will be asked to direct his application to the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities in Luxembourg.

3. The Court of Auditors may refuse access to documents on the basis of the following criteria:

(a) the protection of the public interest (e.g. public safety, international relations, monetary stability, legal proceedings, inspection and inquiry activities),

(b) the protection of the individual and of his privacy (in particular, all the personal data concerning the Court of Auditors' officials and other members of staff),

(c) the protection of commercial and industrial secrets,

(d) the protection of the financial interests of the Community,

(e) the protection of confidentiality at the request of the individual or legal entity which supplied the information or the confidentiality required by the legislation of the Member State which supplied the information.

4. In accordance with the rules governing confidentiality laid down in Article 88(1) of the Financial Regulation, the Court of Auditors shall refuse access to any document containing observations regarding audits.

5. The Court of Auditors may also refuse access to ensure the protection of the secrecy of its deliberations. As a general rule and unless the Court decides to the contrary, it shall refuse access to all documents relating to its working methods.

Article 5 Entry into force

This decision was adopted by the Court of Auditors at the Court's 543rd meeting on 20 February 1997. It shall take effect on the first day of the month following its adoption, i.e. on 1 March 1997.

Luxembourg, 7 April 1997.

For the Court of Auditors

Bernhard FRIEDMANN

President

(1) OJ L 43, 15.2.1983, p. 1.