Case C-57/16 P: Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 4 September 2018 — ClientEarth v European Commission (Appeal — Access to documents of the EU institutions — Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 — Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 — Impact assessment report, draft impact assessment report and opinion of the Impact Assessment Board — Legislative initiatives in respect of environmental matters — Refusal to grant access — Disclosure of the documents requested in the course of the proceedings — Continuing interest in bringing proceedings — Exception relating to the protection of the ongoing decision-making process of an EU institution — General presumption)
Date: 2018-09-04
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: EU environmental policy, access to EU information, environmental impact, environmental law








C_2018399EN.01000201.xml










5.11.2018   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 399/2






Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 4 September 2018 — ClientEarth v European Commission
(Case C-57/16 P) (1)

((Appeal - Access to documents of the EU institutions - Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 - Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 - Impact assessment report, draft impact assessment report and opinion of the Impact Assessment Board - Legislative initiatives in respect of environmental matters - Refusal to grant access - Disclosure of the documents requested in the course of the proceedings - Continuing interest in bringing proceedings - Exception relating to the protection of the ongoing decision-making process of an EU institution - General presumption))
(2018/C 399/02)
Language of the case: English

Parties


Appellant: ClientEarth (represented by: O.W. Brouwer, J. Wolfhagen and F. Heringa, advocaten)

Other party to the proceedings: European Commission (represented by: F. Clotuche-Duvieusart and M. Konstantinidis, acting as Agents)

Interveners in support of the appellant: Republic of Finland (represented by: H. Leppo and J. Heliskoski, acting as Agents), Kingdom of Sweden (represented by: A. Falk, C. Meyer-Seitz, U. Persson and N. Otte Widgren, acting as Agents)

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Sets aside the judgment of the General Court of the European Union of 13 November 2015, ClientEarth v Commission (T-424/14 and T-425/14, EU:T:2015:848);










2.


Annuls the decision of the European Commission of 1 April 2014 refusing to grant access to an impact assessment report for a proposed binding instrument setting a strategic framework for risk-based inspection and surveillance in relation to EU environmental legislation and an opinion of the Impact Assessment Board;










3.


Annuls the decision of the European Commission of 3 April 2014 refusing to grant access to a draft impact assessment report relating to access to justice in environmental matters at Member State level in the field of EU environmental policy and an opinion of the Impact Assessment Board;










4.


Orders the European Commission to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by ClientEarth at first instance and on appeal;










5.


Orders the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden to bear their own costs in relation to the appeal proceedings.






(1)  OJ C 191, 30.5.2016.