The Right of Access to Environmental Information in the Light of the Case C-673/13 P of 23 November 2016 - European Commission v Stichting Greenpeace Nederland

• Autorzy: Justyna Bazylińska-Nagler
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

In order to be able to ensure that the competent authorities take the right decisions and to participate effectively in decision-making, the public must know that the emissions were correctly or incorrectly assessed and must be thoroughly informed so as to understand how those emissions could affect the environment. The main thesis of this article is that there is a significant contradiction between environmental democracy standards in EU law and the protection of confidential commercial or industrial information. In line with the EU's access to documents laws, information that would harm the commercial interests of a third party can not be made public if there is not an overriding public interest justifying such a disclosure. A significant part of this article has become a commentary on a very recent Court of Justice of the European Union judgment in appeal of 23rd November 2016 - European Commission v Greenpeace Nederland and Pesticide Action Network Europe. The case discused in this work addresses the fundamental issue - the right of access to environmental documents, and in particular, the scope of the concept of 'information on emissions into the environment'. The conclusions reached by the CJEU in this judgment may have wide-ranging consequences for EU manufacturers of plant protection products and biocides. In general, this judgement may have significant and widespread implications for companies seeking to protect trade secrets and other sensitive information.(original abstract)

Słowa kluczowe

EN

Natural environment; Access to information; Confidential information; Law

PL

Środowisko przyrodnicze; Dostęp do informacji; Informacja poufna; Prawo

• Czasopismo: Wroclaw Review of Law, Administration & Economics
• Rocznik: 2017
• Tom: 7
• Numer: nr 2
• Strony: 66--82

Twórcy

autor

Justyna Bazylińska-Nagler

• Wroclaw University

Bibliografia

• Case C-673/13 P Commission v Stichting Greenpeace Nederland and PAN Europe.
• Cases C-404/12 P and C-405/12 P Council of the European Union and European Commission v Stichting Natuur en Milieu and Pesticide Action Network Europe.
• Case 70/87 Fédération de l'industrie de l'huilerie de la CEE (Fediol) v Commission of the European Communities [1989] ECR-01781.
• Case C-69/89 Nakajima All Precision Co. Ltd v Council of the European Communities [1991] ECR I-02069.
• Case C-240/09 Lesoochranárske zoskupenie VLK v Ministerstvo životného prostredia Slovenskej republiky.
• Case T-188/12, Patrick Breyer v European Commission.
• Opinion of Advocate General Bobek delivered on 21 December 2016, Case C 213/15 P Commission v Patrick Breyer.
• Opinion of Advocate General Kokott delivered on 7 April 2016, Case C-673/13 P European Commission v Stichting Greenpeace Nederland and Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe).
• Opinion of Advocate General Jääskinen delivered on 8 May 2014, Cases C-404/12 P and C-405/12 P Council of the European Union and European Commission v Stichting Natuur en Milieu and Pesticide Action Network Europe.
• Charter of Fundamental Rights of the Union [2012] OJ C326/02.
• Communication from the Commission. Europe 2020. A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth [2010] COM(2010) 2020 final.
• Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, Aarhus, Denmark [1998] United Nations Treaty Series vol 2161, 447.
• Council Decision 94/800/EC Concerning the Conclusion on Behalf of The European Community, as Regards Matters Within its competence, of the Agreements Reached in the Uruguay Round Multilateral negotiations [1994] OJ L336/214.
• Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market [1991] OJ L230/1.
• Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents, Tromsø (2009) Council of Europe Treaty Series 205.
• Decision 2005/370/EC of 17 February 2005 on the conclusion on behalf of the European Community, of the Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters [2005] OJ L124/1.
• 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 [2003] OJ L041/0026.
• Directive 2003/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 providing for public participation in respect of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to the environment and amending with regard to public participation and access to justice Council Directives 85/337/EEC and 96/61/EC [2003] OJ L 156/0017.
• Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950) European Treaty Series 5.
• Explanations relating to the Charter of Fundamental Rights [2007] C 303/02.
• Recommendation Rec (2002)1 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe of 30 January 2002 to Member States on the guiding principles for sustainable spatial development of the European Continent.
• Recommendation Rec (2002)12 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe of 16 October 2002 to Member States on education for democratic citizenship.
• Recommendation Rec (2001) 19 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe of 6 December 2001 to Member States on the participation of citizens in local public life.
• Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 September 2006 on the application of the provisions of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters to Community institutions and bodies [2006] OJ L264/13.
• 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 [2001] OJ L145/43.
• Treaty establishing the European Community [2002] OJ C 325/33.
• Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union [2012] OJ C 326/01.
• Treaty on European Union [2012] OJ C 326/13.
• Bándi G., 'Right to environment - procedural guarantees' in Bándi Gyula (ed) Environmental democracy and law: public participation in Europe (Europa Law Publishing 2014).
• Ebbesson J., Information, Participation and Access to Justice: the Model of the Aarhus Convention (Stockholm University 2002) http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/environment/environ/bp5.htm.
• European Environment Agency, The European environment - state and outlook 2015: synthesis report (Copenhagen 2015).
• Fabra Aguilar A., Popovic N., 'Lawmaking in the United Nations: the UN Study on Human Rights and the Environment' (1994) 17 Review of European Community & International Environmental Law 197.
• Geiger R., Khan D-E., Kotzur M. (eds), European Union Treaties. A Commentary. Treaty on European Union. Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (C.H.BECK Hart 2015).
• Hallo R., 'Access to Environmental Information. The reciprocal Influences of EU Law and the Aarhus Convention' in Pallemaerts Marc (ed) The Aarhus Convention at Ten. Interactions and Tensions between Conventional International Law and EU Environmental Law (Europa Law Publishing 2011).
• Jendrośka J., 'Public Participation in Environmental Decision-Making Interactions Between the Convention and EU Law and Other Key Legal Issues in its Implementation in the Light of the Opinions of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee' in Marc Pallemaerts (ed) The Aarhus Convention at Ten: Interactions and Tensions Between Conventional International Law and EU Environmental Law (Europa Law Publishing 2011): 143.
• Public Information and Participation in EC Environmental Law.
• Origins, Milestones and Trends' in: Macrory Richard (ed) Reflections on 30 years of EU environmental law. A High Level of Protection? (Europa Law Publishing 2006).
• Radecki W., Konwencja o dostępie do informacji, udziale społeczeństwa w podejmowaniu decyzji oraz dostępie do sprawiedliwości w sprawach dot. Środowiska (Wrocław: Centrum Prawa Ekologicznego 1999).
• Lyndon M.L., 'Trade Secrets and Information Access in Environmental Law' in Rochelle C. Dreyfuss & Katherine J. Strandburg (eds) The Law and Theory of trade secrecy: a handbook of contemporary research (Edward Elgar 2011).
• Macrory R., (ed) Reflections on 30 years of EU environmental law. A High Level of Protection? (Europa Law Publishing 2006).
• Oliver P., 'Access to Information and to Justice in EU Environmental Law: The Aarhus Convention' (2013) 36 Fordham International Law Journal 1423-1470.
• Pallemaerts M. (ed) The Aarhus Convention at Ten. Interactions and Tensions between Conventional International Law and EU Environmental Law (Europa Law Publishing 2011).
• Requests for internal review. Practical Guide http://ec.europa.eu/environment/aarhus/requests.htm
• De Sadeleer N., 'Enforcing EUCHR Principles and Fundamental Rights in Environmental Cases' (2012) 39 Nordic Journal of International Law.
• Schram F., 'From a General Right of Access to Environmental Information in the Aarhus Convention to a general right of Access to All Information in Official Documents. The Council of Europe's Tromsø Convention' in Pallemaerts Marc (ed) The Aarhus Convention at Ten: Interactions and Tensions Between Conventional International Law and EU Environmental Law (Europa Law Publishing 2011).
• Shaw M.N., International Law (Cambridge University Press 2008).
• United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) The Aarhus Convention: An implementation guide (United Nations Publications 2014)