Judgment of the Court First Chamber of 15 April 2021, Friends of the Irish Environment, C-470/19

• Date: 15 April 2021
• Year: 2021

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funds would be better ensured on the basis of the obligation, for the Member States and for the

Commission, respectively, to submit and accept the operational programme accounts on an annual

basis. The application, to expenditure incurred during an accounting year and entered in the

accounting system, of a co-financing rate adopted following the final application for an interim

payment – and therefore not in force either during the accounting year in question or on the date of

that final application – would amount to a breach of the principle that accounts relate to a specific

year.

Accordingly, on the basis of that analysis, the Court concludes that the co-financing rate applicable in

respect of the calculation of the amount chargeable to the Cohesion Fund and the ERDF for a given

accounting year is that in force on the date of submission, by the Member State concerned, of the

final application for an interim payment corresponding to the accounting year concerned.

XI. ENVIRONMENT

Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 15 April 2021, Friends of the Irish Environment,

C-470/19

Link to the complete text of the judgment

Reference for a preliminary ruling – Aarhus Convention – Directive 2003/4/EC – Right of access to

environmental information held by public authorities – Article 2, point 2 – Notion of ‘public authority’ –

Bodies or institutions when acting in a judicial or legislative capacity – Information in the file of closed

court proceedings

In 2016, the non-governmental organisation, Friends of the Irish Environment, submitted to the

Courts Service of Ireland a request for access to environmental information contained in the court file

relating to proceedings challenging a building permit issued for the construction of wind turbines in

County Cork (Ireland). That request, made under the Aarhus Convention

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and the Directive on public

access to environmental information,

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referred to certain procedural documents and final orders

bringing those judicial proceedings to an end.

The Courts Service of Ireland refused the request for access on the ground that Irish law does not

provide for access to environmental information connected with judicial proceedings. Seised of an

action against the decision refusing access, the Commissioner for Environmental Information

confirmed that decision, taking the view, first, that the Courts Service of Ireland held the files

requested in the exercise of judicial powers on behalf of the judicial authority and, second, that that

Service, when exercising such powers, was not a ‘public authority’ within the meaning of Irish law. The

national legislation transposing the Directive on public access to environmental information excludes

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The Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision‑making and Access to Justic e in Environmental Matters, s igned in

Aarhus on 25 June 1998 and approved on behalf of the European Community by Council Decision 2005/370/EC of 17 February 2005 (OJ 2005

L 124, p. 1).

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Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2003 on public access to environmental in formation and

repealing Council Directive 90/313/EEC (OJ 2003 L 41, p. 26).