CJEU Case C-826/18 / Judgment

LB and Others v College van burgemeester en wethouders van de gemeente Echt-Susteren
Policy area
Environment
Deciding body type
Court of Justice of the European Union
Deciding body
Court (First Chamber)
Type
Decision
Decision date
14/01/2021
ECLI (European case law identifier)
ECLI:EU:C:2021:7
  • CJEU Case C-826/18 / Judgment

    Key facts of the case:

    Request for a preliminary ruling from the Rechtbank Limburg.

    Reference for a preliminary ruling – Aarhus Convention – Article 9(2) and (3) – Access to justice – No access to justice for the public other than the public concerned – Admissibility of the action subject to prior participation in the decision-making procedure.

     

    Outcome of the case:

    On those grounds, the Court (First Chamber) hereby rules:

    1. Article 9(2) of the Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters, signed in Aarhus (Denmark) on 25 June 1998 and approved on behalf of the European Community by Council Decision 2005/370/EC of 17 February 2005 must be interpreted as not precluding members of the ‘public’ which is referred to in Article 2(4) of that convention from having no access as such to justice for the purposes of challenging a decision which falls within the scope of Article 6 of that convention. However, Article 9(3) of that convention precludes such persons from not being able to have access to justice for the purposes of relying on more extensive rights to participate in the decision-making procedure which may be conferred on them solely by the national environmental law of a Member State.
    2. Article 9(2) of the Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters, signed in Aarhus (Denmark) on 25 June 1998 and approved on behalf of the European Community by Decision 2005/370/EC must be interpreted as precluding the admissibility of the judicial proceedings to which it refers, brought by non-governmental organisations which are part of the ‘public concerned’ referred to in Article 2(5) of that convention, from being made subject to the participation of those organisations in the procedure preparatory to the contested decision, even though that condition does not apply where such organisations cannot reasonably be criticised for not having participated in that procedure. However, Article 9(3) of that convention does not preclude the admissibility of judicial proceedings to which it refers from being made subject to the participation of the applicant in the procedure preparatory to the contested decision, unless the applicant cannot reasonably be criticised, in the light of the circumstances of the case, for not having intervened in that procedure.
  • Paragraphs referring to EU Charter

    64) In such circumstances, notwithstanding the fact that it constitutes, as a precondition for bringing judicial proceedings, a limitation on the right to an effective remedy before a court within the meaning of Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’), the Court has found that such a condition may be justified, in accordance with Article 52(1) of the Charter, to the extent that it is provided for by law, it respects the essence of that law, it is necessary, subject to the principle of proportionality, and it genuinely meets objectives of the public interest recognised by the European Union or the need to protect the rights and freedoms of others (see, to that effect, judgment of 20 December 2017, Protect Natur-, Arten- und Landschaftsschutz Umweltorganisation, C–664/15EU:C:2017:987, paragraph 90).

    65) In the present case, irrespective of whether Article 47 of the Charter should be applied to judicial proceedings which would concern only the more extensive rights to participate in the decision-making procedure which are conferred solely by national law, it is apparent that the conditions set out in the previous paragraph of this judgment are, in any event, satisfied.

    66) It follows from the order for reference that a condition of admissibility of an action based on prior participation in the decision-making procedure is provided for by a law, for the purposes of Article 47 of the Charter. That condition moreover respects the essential content of the fundamental right to effective judicial protection, as enshrined in that article, since it does not call into question that right as such but merely imposes an additional procedural step in order to exercise it (see, to that effect, judgment of 27 September 2017, Puškár, C–73/16EU:C:2017:725, paragraph 64). In addition, it meets the objective of general interest referred to in paragraph 63 of this judgment and it is not evident that any disadvantages caused by the obligation to participate in the procedure preparatory to the contested decision are clearly disproportionate to that objective (see, to that effect, judgment of 27 September 2017, Puškár, C–73/16EU:C:2017:725, paragraphs 6667 and 69).

  • Paragraphs referring to EU Charter (original language)