Action brought on 9 February 2012 - ClientEarth v Council
(Case T-62/12)
Language of the case: English
Parties
Applicant: ClientEarth (London, United Kingdom) (represented by: O. Brouwer and P. van den Berg, lawyers)
Defendant: Council of the European Union
Form of order sought
Annul the decision of the defendant refusing (full) access to document 6865/09, containing a legal opinion of the defendant's legal service concerning the legality of draft amendments to a European Commission proposal for the recast of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, pursuant to the said regulation; and
Order the defendant to pay the costs of the procedure.
Pleas in law and main arguments
In support of the action, the applicant relies on four pleas in law.
First plea in law, alleging violation of Article 4(2) second indent of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, as the defendant did not show how disclosure of the document in question would undermine the protection of legal advice.
Second plea in law, alleging violation of Article 4(3) first sub-paragraph of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, as the defendant did not show how disclosure of the document in question would seriously undermine the Council's decision-making process.
Third plea in law, alleging violation of both Article 4(2) second indent and 4(3) first sub-paragraph of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, as the defendant failed to take account of the overriding public interest in disclosure of the document in question.
Fourth plea in law, alleging violation of Article 4(6) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 and the principle of proportionality, as the Council did not properly consider whether fuller access to the document in question could have been provided.
____________1 - Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (OJ 2001 L 145, p. 43)