Judgment of the General Court (Eighth Chamber) of 15 September 2016 —

Philip Morris v Commission

(Case T‑18/15)

‛Access to documents — Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 — Documents drawn up in the context of preparatory works leading to the adoption of the directive on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products — Refusal to grant access — Exception relating to the protection of court proceedings — Exception relating to protection of the decision-making process — Rights of the defence — Overriding public interest’

1. EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Strict interpretation and application — Obligation to make a specific and individual examination for documents covered by an exception — Scope (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, first, second and fourth recitals and Arts 1 and 4) (see paras 31-35)

2. EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Duty to balance relevant interests (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, second recital and Art. 4) (see para. 36)

3. EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Protection of court proceedings — Scope — Pleadings submitted by the Commission to the EU judicature in pending cases — General presumption that the exception to the right of access applies — Application to closed cases — Conditions (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(2), second indent) (see paras 53-59)

4. EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Protection of court proceedings — Scope — Documents not drawn up solely for the purposes of court proceedings, but likely adversely to affect the capacity of the institution concerned to defend itself in those proceedings — Inclusion — Conditions (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(2), second indent) (see paras 64, 65)

5. EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Protection of court proceedings — Scope — Refusal to disclose documents likely to compromise the position of the institution concerned and the principle of equality of arms in the context of pending proceedings — Lawfulness (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(2), second indent) (see paras 73, 74)

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 — Scope — Documents containing critical assessments by a service of an institution of another service in that institution during a legislative procedure — Included (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(3), first para.) (see paras 82, 87)

Re:

APPLICATION based on Article 263 TFEU and seeking annulment of Commission Decision Ares(2014) 3694540 of 6 November 2014, refusing access to certain documents relating to the adoption of Directive 2014/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products and repealing Directive 2001/37/EC (OJ 2014 L 127, p. 1).

Operative part

The Court:

1. Annuls Commission Decision Ares(2014) 3694540 of 6 November 2014, refusing access to certain documents relating to the adoption of Directive 2014/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products and repealing Directive 2001/37/EC, in so far as it refused access to the first three sentences of the third paragraph of Document No 6;

2. Dismisses the action as to the remainder;