Opinions of the 255 Committee on the suitability of the candidates for the CJEU
Alberto Alemanno made this access to documents request to Council of the European Union
Dear Council of the European Union,
It has become publicly known, through a variety of media sources – including the Portuguese Observador and specialised media, such as EU Law Live Blog – that some candidates for the post of Judge or Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the European Union have failed to receive a favourable opinion on account of not having the required number of years for demonstrating the professional experience. As this requirement is not laid down in any legal act (Articles 253 and 254 TFEU do not define the number of years required to be eligible to the post) or vacancy notice, there are concerns in the academic and professional communities regarding the discretionary power exercised by the panel provided for by Article 255 of the TFEU.
As a law professor, and a EU citizen, I find that it would be in the public interest to make both favourable and unfavourable opinions publicly available so that no doubt can be made on the impartiality of the Article 255 panel. This appears all the more needed at the time in which leading academic observers, such as Giuliano Amato, Dieter Grimm, Joseph Weiler, Miguel Maduro, Marta Cartabia and others have argued that the panel might have been acting ultra vires.
Therefore, under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties - as developed in Regulation 1049/2001 -, I hereby seek access to all the Article 255 Panel’s opinions regarding all judicial candidates nominated for the CJEU and General Court in 2023 and 2024.
I note that while I am interested in receiving both the favourable and unfavourable opinions, be them in their entirety – and/or excluding some aspects of the substantive evaluations – , I am particularly interested in gaining access to the unfavourable opinions.
Contrary to what it might appear prima facie, the current lack of publicity of these opinions – and not their proactive publication – is currently damaging the reputation of the candidates presumed to have received an unfavourable opinion, as the current public debate – see above – shows.
By preventing the public from knowing for what reasons a particular candidate has failed to receive a positive assessment by the panel, the lack of publication of unfavourable opinions is prone to speculation, chattering, and manipulation. Virtually no observer belonging to the EU legal epistemic community – who is by nature the most merciless in judging the candidate and prone to speculating about the reasons for her/his failure – is currently unaware of the outcome and presumed reasons that have led to a negative opinion. One may therefore contend that the current policy seems more effective in protecting the panels’ operation from public scrutiny than the candidates’ reputation.
This hints to the transformation of the 255 panel into a de facto council of the judiciary in the EU, which has contributed to rewrite not only the national procedures for the selection of the candidates but also the substantive criteria, thus acting beyond Treaty law.
Ultimately, granting access to the committee's opinions might be the best way to protect the legitimacy of the 255 committee as well as to defend the reputation of both its members and the candidates the committee was called upon to examine.
Should I not receive the satisfaction of my request, I intend to complain to the EU Ombudsman alleging maladministration by both the 255 Committee and the Council.
Should the request be voluminous, particularly in light of the possible need to redact information from the documents, I am at your disposition to discuss narrowing the request.
Please do not hesitate to contact me should any further clarification be needed.
With best regards,
Yours faithfully,
Alberto Alemanno
c/o The Good Lobby
Rue due Commerce 72 - 1000 - Brussels BELGIUM
Sources cited:
https://observador.pt/opiniao/declaracao...
Your message has been received by the Transparency and Access to Documents Unit of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union. All requests for access to documents are treated on the basis of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents. The General Secretariat will reply to your request within 15 working days upon registration of your request. Requests received before 5 PM on a working day are registered on the same day. Requests received after 5 PM are registered on the first following working day.
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L'unité "Transparence et accès aux documents" du Secrétariat général du Conseil de l'Union européenne a bien reçu votre message. Toutes les demandes d'accès à des documents sont traitées conformément au règlement (CE) n° 1049/2001 du 30 mai 2001 relatif à l'accès du public aux documents du Parlement européen, du Conseil et de la Commission. Le Secrétariat général répondra à votre demande dans un délai de 15 jours ouvrables à compter de l'enregistrement de celle-ci. Les demandes reçues les jours ouvrables avant 17 heures sont enregistrées le jour même. Les demandes reçues après 17 heures sont enregistrées le premier jour ouvrable suivant.
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Ihre Nachricht ist bei der Dienststelle "Transparenz und Zugang zu Dokumenten" des General-sekretariats des Rates der Europäischen Union eingegangen. Alle Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden gemäß der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 vom 30. Mai 2001 über den Zugang der Öffentlichkeit zu Dokumenten des Europäischen Parlaments, des Rates und der Kommission bearbeitet. Das Generalsekretariat wird Ihnen binnen fünfzehn Arbeitstagen nach Registrierung Ihres Antrags eine Antwort übermitteln. Anträge, die an einem Arbeitstag vor 17.00 Uhr eingehen, werden noch am selben Tages registriert. Nach 17.00 Uhr eingehende Anträge werden am erstfolgenden Arbeitstag registriert.
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Please find attached a letter from the General Secretariat of the Council
concerning your request for access to documents under Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001.
Yours sincerely,
Transparency
General Secretariat of the Council
Directorate-General Communication and Information - COMM
Directorate Information and Outreach
Information Services Unit / Transparency
Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, 175 - B-1048 Bruxelles/Brussel - Belgique/België
[1]www.consilium.europa.eu | [2][email address]
Disclaimer: The views expressed are solely those of the writer and may not
be regarded as stating an official position of the Council of the EU
Clause de non-responsabilité: Les avis exprimés n'engagent que leur auteur
et ne peuvent être considérés comme une position officielle du Conseil de
l'UE
Dear Mr Alemanno,
On 16.10.2024, the time-limit for replying to your application (see attached) was extended by 15 working days, until 07.11.2024.
However, the General Secretariat is still conducting consultations necessary to the examination of your request and you will be notified of a decision as soon as possible.
We apologise for the delay in replying to your request.
Yours sincerely,
Transparency
General Secretariat of the Council
Directorate-General Communication and Information - COMM
Directorate Information and Outreach
Information Services Unit / Transparency
Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, 175 - B-1048 Bruxelles/Brussel - Belgique/België
www.consilium.europa.eu | [email address]
Disclaimer: The views expressed are solely those of the writer and may not be regarded as stating an official position of the Council of the EU
Clause de non-responsabilité: Les avis exprimés n'engagent que leur auteur et ne peuvent être considérés comme une position officielle du Conseil de l'UE
Please find attached a letter from the General Secretariat of the Council
concerning your request for access to documents.
Yours sincerely,
Transparency
General Secretariat of the Council
Directorate-General Communication and Information - COMM
Directorate Information and Outreach
Information Services Unit / Transparency
Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, 175 - B-1048 Bruxelles/Brussel - Belgique/België
[1]www.consilium.europa.eu | [2][email address]
Disclaimer: The views expressed are solely those of the writer and may not
be regarded as stating an official position of the Council of the EU
Clause de non-responsabilité: Les avis exprimés n'engagent que leur auteur
et ne peuvent être considérés comme une position officielle du Conseil de
l'UE
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Dear Council of the European Union,
Please pass this on to the person who reviews confirmatory applications.
I am filing the following confirmatory application with regards to my access to documents request 'Opinions of the 255 Committee on the suitability of the candidates for the CJEU'.
As anticipated in my original request, which has now been refused, there are concerns in the academic and professional communities regarding the discretionary power exercised by the panel provided for by Article 255 of the TFEU, as epitomised by its zero publicity policy regarding its opinions on the suitability of the candidates for members of the CJEU, and established within the Council.
As a law professor, and a EU citizen, I find that it would be in the public interest to make both favourable and unfavourable opinions publicly available so that no doubt can be made on the impartiality of the Article 255 panel. This appears all the more needed at the time in which leading academic observers, such as Giuliano Amato, Dieter Grimm, Joseph Weiler, Miguel Maduro, Marta Cartabia and others have argued that the panel might have been acting ultra vires over the past years.
Therefore, under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties - as developed in Regulation 1049/2001 -, I hereby seek - through this confirmatory request - access to all the Article 255 Panel’s opinions regarding all judicial candidates nominated for the CJEU and General Court in 2023 and 2024.
I note that while I am interested in receiving both the favourable and unfavourable opinions, be them in their entirety – and/or excluding some aspects of the substantive evaluations – , I am particularly interested in gaining access to the unfavourable opinions.
Contrary to what is argued in your rejection letter, it is the current absolute confidentiality of these opinions – and not their proactive publication – that is currently damaging the reputation of the candidates presumed to have received an unfavourable opinion, as the current public debate revolving around the failed appointment of several candidate members shows.
By preventing the public from knowing for what reasons a particular candidate has failed to receive a positive assessment by the panel, the lack of publication of unfavourable opinions is prone to speculation, chattering, and manipulation. Virtually no observer belonging to the EU legal epistemic community – who is by nature the most merciless in judging the candidate and prone to speculating about the reasons for her/his failure – is currently unaware of the outcome and presumed reasons that have led to a negative opinion. One may therefore contend that the current policy seems more effective in protecting the panels’ operation from public scrutiny than the candidates’ reputation.
This hints to the transformation of the 255 panel into a de facto council of the judiciary in the EU, which has contributed to rewrite not only the national procedures for the selection of the candidates but also the substantive criteria, thus acting beyond Treaty law.
Ultimately, granting access to the committee's opinions might be the best way to protect the legitimacy of the 255 committee as well as to defend the reputation of both its members and the candidates the committee was called upon to examine.
Should I not receive the satisfaction of my request, I intend to complain to the EU Ombudsman alleging maladministration by both the 255 Committee and the Council, and, subsquentely or alternatively, challenge your rejection before the CJEU.
Should the request be voluminous, particularly in light of the possible need to redact information from the documents, I am at your disposition to discuss narrowing the request.
Please do not hesitate to contact me should any further clarification be needed.
With best regards,
Yours faithfully,
Alberto Alemanno
c/o The Good Lobby
Rue due Commerce 72 - 1000 - Brussels BELGIUM
A full history of my request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/opin...
Your message has been received by the Transparency and Access to Documents Unit of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union. All requests for access to documents are treated on the basis of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents. The General Secretariat will reply to your request within 15 working days upon registration of your request. Requests received before 5 PM on a working day are registered on the same day. Requests received after 5 PM are registered on the first following working day.
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This notification was sent from an unattended mailbox. Please do not reply.
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To see the text of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, please click here:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexU...
If the link doesn't open when you click on it, please copy - paste it into your browser.
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L'unité "Transparence et accès aux documents" du Secrétariat général du Conseil de l'Union européenne a bien reçu votre message. Toutes les demandes d'accès à des documents sont traitées conformément au règlement (CE) n° 1049/2001 du 30 mai 2001 relatif à l'accès du public aux documents du Parlement européen, du Conseil et de la Commission. Le Secrétariat général répondra à votre demande dans un délai de 15 jours ouvrables à compter de l'enregistrement de celle-ci. Les demandes reçues les jours ouvrables avant 17 heures sont enregistrées le jour même. Les demandes reçues après 17 heures sont enregistrées le premier jour ouvrable suivant.
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S'il vous plaît ne répondez pas à ce message, car il a été envoyé d'une boîte aux lettres sans surveillance.
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Pour consulter le texte du règlement (CE) n° 1049/2001, cliquez ici:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexU...
Si le lien ne s'ouvre pas lorsque vous cliquez dessus, veuillez copier-coller l'adresse dans votre navigateur.
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Ihre Nachricht ist bei der Dienststelle "Transparenz und Zugang zu Dokumenten" des General-sekretariats des Rates der Europäischen Union eingegangen. Alle Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden gemäß der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 vom 30. Mai 2001 über den Zugang der Öffentlichkeit zu Dokumenten des Europäischen Parlaments, des Rates und der Kommission bearbeitet. Das Generalsekretariat wird Ihnen binnen fünfzehn Arbeitstagen nach Registrierung Ihres Antrags eine Antwort übermitteln. Anträge, die an einem Arbeitstag vor 17.00 Uhr eingehen, werden noch am selben Tages registriert. Nach 17.00 Uhr eingehende Anträge werden am erstfolgenden Arbeitstag registriert.
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Diese Nachricht wurde automatisch generiert. Bitte nicht antworten.
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Den Text der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 finden Sie hier:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexU...
Wenn sich der Link beim Anklicken nicht öffnet, kopieren Sie den bitte mit "copy/paste" in Ihren Browser.
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