CELEX: 62011CA0515
Language: en
Date: 2013-07-18 00:00:00
Title: Case C-515/11: Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 18 July 2013 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Verwaltungsgericht Berlin — Germany) — Deutsche Umwelthilfe eV v Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Public access to environmental information — Directive 2003/4/EC — Power of the Member States to exclude bodies acting in a legislative capacity from the definition of ‘public authority’ under that directive — Limits)

7.9.2013   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 260/8
            
         Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 18 July 2013 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Verwaltungsgericht Berlin — Germany) — Deutsche Umwelthilfe eV v Bundesrepublik Deutschland
   (Case C-515/11) (1)
   
   (Public access to environmental information - Directive 2003/4/EC - Power of the Member States to exclude bodies acting in a legislative capacity from the definition of ‘public authority’ under that directive - Limits)
   2013/C 260/13
   Language of the case: German
   
      Referring court
   
   Verwaltungsgericht Berlin
   
      Parties to the main proceedings
   
   
      Applicant: Deutsche Umwelthilfe eV
   
      Defendant: Bundesrepublik Deutschland
   
      Re:
   
   Request for a preliminary ruling — Verwaltungsgericht Berlin — Interpretation of Article 2(2) of Directive 2003/4/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2003 on public access to environmental information and repealing Council Directive 90/313/EEC (OJ 2003 L 41, p. 26) — Obligation of public authorities to make available environmental information held by them to any applicant — National legislation exempting the supreme federal authorities from the obligation to provide information where they act in the context of the legislative process — Limits of the power of the Member States to exclude bodies acting in a legislative capacity from the definition of ‘public authority’ under Directive 2003/4/EC
   
      Operative part of the judgment
   
   The first sentence of the second subparagraph of Article 2(2) of Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2003 on public access to environmental information and repealing Council Directive 90/313/EEC must be interpreted as meaning that the option given to Member States by that provision of not regarding ‘bodies or institutions acting in a … legislative capacity’ as public authorities, required to allow access to the environmental information which they hold, may not be applied to ministries when they prepare and adopt normative regulations which are of a lower rank than a law.
   
      (1)  OJ C 32, 4.2.2012.