Order of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 15 February 2012 — Internationaler Hilfsfond v Commission

(Case C‑208/11 P)

Appeal — Access to documents — Action for annulment of the Commission’s decisions refusing access to documents concerning a contract for the co-financing of a medical aid programme in Kazakhstan — Action inadmissible because brought out of time — Incorrect determination of the moment from which the time allowed for bringing the action began to run

1.                     Actions for annulment — Actionable measures — Definition — Measures producing binding legal effects — Preparatory measures — Not included — Position originally adopted in the procedure for access for the public to Commission documents — Preparatory act (Art. 263 TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001) (see paras 29-30)

2.                     Appeals — Grounds — Inadmissibility of the action before the General Court — Ground involving a question of public policy — Considered of the Court’s own motion (see para. 34)

3.                     Appeals — Pleas in law — Grounds of a judgment vitiated by an infringement of Union law — Operative part sound on other legal grounds — Rejection (see para. 35)

Re:

Appeal against the order of the General Court (Fourth Chamber) of 24 March 2011 in Case T‑36/10

Internationaler Hilfsfonds

v

Commission

, by which that court dismissed as inadmissible in part the application for annulment of the Commission’s decisions of 9 October 2009 and 1 December 2009 refusing Internationaler Hilfsfonds full access to the file concerning contract LIEN 97-2011 for the co-financing of a medical aid programme in Kazakhstan — Application inadmissible as being out of time — Incorrect determination of the starting-point of the period allowed for bringing proceedings.

Operative part

1.

The appeal is dismissed.

2.

Internationaler Hilfsfonds eV is ordered to pay the costs.