This document is an excerpt from the EUR-Lex website
Document 62018CJ0612
Judgment of the Court (Tenth Chamber) of 19 March 2020.
ClientEarth v European Commission.
Appeal — Access to documents of the institutions — Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 — Article 4(1)(a), third indent, and (6) — Exceptions to the right of access — Protection of the public interest as regards international relations — Documents drawn up by the European Commission’s legal service concerning Investor-State Dispute Settlement and the Investment Court System in EU trade agreements — Partial refusal of access.
Case C-612/18 P.
Judgment of the Court (Tenth Chamber) of 19 March 2020.
ClientEarth v European Commission.
Appeal — Access to documents of the institutions — Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 — Article 4(1)(a), third indent, and (6) — Exceptions to the right of access — Protection of the public interest as regards international relations — Documents drawn up by the European Commission’s legal service concerning Investor-State Dispute Settlement and the Investment Court System in EU trade agreements — Partial refusal of access.
Case C-612/18 P.
ECLI identifier: ECLI:EU:C:2020:223
Judgment of the Court (Tenth Chamber) of 19 March 2020 — ClientEarth v Commission
(Case C‑612/18 P) ( 1 )
(Appeal — Access to documents of the institutions — Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 — Article 4(1)(a), third indent, and (6) — Exceptions to the right of access — Protection of the public interest as regards international relations — Documents drawn up by the European Commission’s legal service concerning Investor-State Dispute Settlement and the Investment Court System in EU trade agreements — Partial refusal of access)
1. |
Appeal — Grounds — Plea submitted for the first time in the context of the appeal — Inadmissibility — Plea seeking solely to contest the merits of the judgment under appeal — Plea arising from the judgment under appeal — Admissibility (see paras 14-17) |
2. |
EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Protection of the public interest — International relations — Scope — Refusal to divulge documents serving as a basis for the Commission’s proposal in the context of current negotiations on an international agreement — Whether permissible (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(1)(a), 3rd indent) (see paras 20, 21, 50, 61, 68) |
3. |
EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Obligation to state reasons — Scope (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(1)(a), 3rd indent) (see paras 30-33, 39, 44) |
4. |
Appeal — Grounds — Grounds of a judgment vitiated by an infringement of EU law — Operative part well founded for other legal reasons — Rejection (see paras 40, 45) |
Operative part
1. |
Dismisses the appeal. |
2. |
Orders ClientEarth to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission. |
( 1 ) OJ C 93, 11.3.2019.