CELEX: C1997/252/80
Language: en
Date: 1997-08-16 00:00:00
Title: Action brought on 24 June 1997 by Rothmans Group Holdings BV against the Commission of the European Communities (Case T-188/97)

No C 252/38           EN                   Official Journal of the European Communities                                  16 . 8 . 97
Action brought on 24 June 1997 by Rothmans Group                      that the documents furnished, combined with the
Holdings BV against the Commission of the European                    documents denied, cannot amount to all the documents
                           Communities                                which the applicant addressed.
                        ( Case T-l 88/97
                          ( 97/C 252/80 )                             Therefore the applicant has brought this application under
                                                                      Articles 173 and 174 of the EC Treaty, submitting that the
                                                                      contested decisions refusing access to the documents in
               (Language of the case: English)                        question are in part unreasoned and in part erroneously
                                                                      reasoned, if not simply out of time altogether.
An action against the Commission of the European
Communities was brought before the Court of First                     The applicant maintains that the failure of DG XXI to
Instance of the European Communities on 24 June 1997                  reply by defining its position within one month of receipt
by Rothmans Group Holdings BV, represented by Scott                   of the application for access constituted an intention to
Crosby, with an address for service in Luxembourg at the              refuse access within the meaning of the first paragraph of
Chambers of Victor Elvinger, 31 Rue d'Eich.                           Article 2 (4 ) of the access decision. Beyond that, the
                                                                      Secretary-General's failure to define his position in time
                                                                      upon receipt of the application for review constituted a
The applicant claims that the Court should:                           refusal within the meaning of the second paragraph of the
                                                                      said Article 2 ( 4 ).
— annul the decision of the Commission of 15 May 1997
     by which it refused access to all letters from the               According to the applicant, the Commission's position
     Commission to the Member States and to all letters               contradicts the general principle of the access code that
    from the Commission to members of the Customs                     'the public will have the widest possible access to
    Code Committee — Transit section,                                 documents held by the Commission and the Council', and
                                                                      is undemocratic and wholly contrary to the intentions of
                                                                      the Community legislature and the High Contracting
— annul the decision of the Commission of 15 May 1997                 Parties .
    by which the Commission refused access to the
    questionnaire, the account of the review and the note
    mentioned in the request,
— annul the decision of the Commission of 15 May 1997
    by which it refused access to the minutes of the                  Action brought on 27 June 1997 by Heinrich Mehlhop
    Customs Code Committee — Transit Section, or in the               against the Council of the European Union and the
    alternative to annul said decision insofar as it applies                    Commission of the European Communities
    to the minutes prior to 6 June 1996,
                                                                                            (Case T-193/97)
                                                                                             ( 97/C 252/81 )
— in     the   alternative,    annul   the  decision    of  the
    Commission of 24 April 1997 whereby the
    Commission refused the applicant's request specified                            (Language of the case: German)
    in the application for access of 23 January 1997 for
    access to all documents without reason, and
                                                                      An action against the Council of the European Union and
                                                                      the Commission of the European Communities was lodged
— order the Commission to pay the applicant's costs                   with the Registrar of the Court of Justice of the European
    pursuant to Article 87 of the Rules of Procedure of the           Communities on 27 June 1996 by Heinrich Mehlhop, of
    Court of First Instance .                                         Asendorf ( Federal Republic of Germany ), represented by
                                                                      Eckhard Mehlhop, Rechtsanwalt, of Messrs Lohoff­
                                                                      Werner & Mehlhop, Hameln, with an address for service
Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:                   in Luxembourg at the Chambers of Lucy Dupong, of
                                                                      Messrs Dupong & Associes, 14a Rue des Bains. In
                                                                      accordance with the first paragraph of Article 47 of the
The applicant is a holding company of a number of                     EC Statute of the Court of Justice, it has been transmitted
subsidiaries in the European Community. The group's                   to the Registrar of the Court of First Instance of the
principal activity is the manufacture, distribution and sale          European Communities .
of tobacco products, in particular cigarettes.
                                                                      The applicant claims that the Court should:
The applicant tried several times by letters addressed to
DG XXI and the Secretary-General to get access to the
abovementioned documents, which directly affect its                   — order the Commission and the Council jointly and
financial interests, but obtained only some documents                     severally to pay to the applicant DM 76 857,95
because of alleged confidentiality. The applicant submits                 together with interest at 8 % from 1 October 1993 ,