Access to administrative documents
Pursuant to Article 15(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the Court of Justice of the European Union has, by its decision of 26 November 2019, put in place rules concerning public access to the documents held by it in the exercise of its administrative functions.
Any EU citizen and any natural or legal person residing or having its registered office in the European Union has a right of access to the documents of the Court of Justice of the European Union listed in Article 1(1) subject to the conditions laid down in that decision.
That decision does not apply to legal documents. All publicly available information and documents relating to cases can be consulted in the case-law database. The texts governing procedure are available in the ‘Procedure’ section for each Court (Court of Justice and General Court).
To make an application for access to a document held by the Court in the exercise of its administrative functions, please complete the form available below (online or as a .pdf file). Your application must be written in one of the European Union’s official languages and can be sent to the Court by post, by fax or electronically. The application must be made in a sufficiently precise manner and must contain, in particular, sufficient elements to enable the Court to identify the document or documents requested. You may also state the language in which you wish to receive the document and an alternative language should your first choice be unavailable. Please note that documents can be supplied only in existing languages and formats. The Court is not required to create a new document, translate a document or gather information in order to reply to your application.
As soon as the Court receives your application, an acknowledgement will be sent to you. The Court will deal with your application within a maximum of one month, unless that period is extended on the conditions laid down in the decision.
The Court may refuse access to a document, inter alia, where its disclosure would undermine the protection of public interest, privacy and the integrity of the individual, commercial interests, Court proceedings and legal advice or if its disclosure would seriously undermine the decision-making process of the Court.
If your application is refused, of if you do not receive a reply within the period laid down, you may make a confirmatory application to the Court within one month using the same form, stating that it is a confirmatory application and giving the registration number which will have been sent to you with the acknowledgement of your initial application.
Data protection
The processing of personal data entered on the application form is subject to the protection policies established by Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data.
see: information on the processing of personal data
Forms
PDF form to be printed and sent by fax, post or email
