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
2. | | Orders ClientEarth to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission. |