Article 42 - Right of access to documents
Key facts of the case:
Appeal – Access to documents of the EU institutions – Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 – Article 10 – Refusal to grant access – Action before the General Court of the European Union against a decision by the European Parliament refusing to grant access to a document – Disclosure of the annotated document by a third party after the action was lodged – Order that there was no need to adjudicate pronounced by the General Court on the ground that was no longer any interest in bringing proceedings – Error of law.
Outcome of the case:
On those grounds, the Court (Fifth Chamber) hereby:
37) That core EU objective is also reflected in Article 15(1) TFEU, which provides that the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the European Union are to conduct their work as openly as possible, that principle of openness also being expressed in Article 10(3) TEU and in Article 298(1) TFEU, and in the enshrining of the right of access to documents in Article 42 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (judgment of 4 September 2018, ClientEarth v Commission, C‑57/16 P, EU:C:2018:660, paragraph 74 and the case-law cited).
