Dear Mr Malakouti-Fitzgerald,

Thank you for your request of 13 October 2024 seeking access to documents in case C-181/23.

As regards access to documents held by the Cour in the exercise of its judicial functions, we need to point out that the Court does not fall under the institutions covered by 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.

In addition, it is the practice of the Court to treat procedural documents as confidential and not to allow access to procedural documents in pending or closed cases to persons who are not a party to the case. In fact, although the Statute of the Court of Justice provides that the hearings are public, it restricts those entitled to receive communication of procedural documents to the parties and to the institutions whose decisions are in dispute. Similarly, the Rules of Procedure provide for procedural documents to be served only on the parties to the proceedings. Therefore, neither the Statute of the Court of Justice nor the Rules of Procedure provide for any third-party right of access to documents submitted to the Court in court proceedings.

Such documents may only become accessible after 30 years, provided the conditions laid down in the rules on the Historical Archives of the European Union are met, and without prejudice to an individual assessment of each request. For further information, please refer to our website: https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/jcms/P_1848...

Kind regards,

Court of Justice of the European Union
Registry of the Court of Justice

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