Official Journal of the European Union

C 298/6

(Case C-71/10)(Public access to environmental information - Directive 2003/4/EC - Article 4 - Exceptions to the right of access - Request for access involving more than one of the interests protected under Article 4(2) of that directive)

2011/C 298/09

Language of the case: English

Referring court

Parties

Respondent: Office of Communications

Appellant: Information Commissioner

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Supreme Court of the United Kingdom — Interpretation of Article 4(2)(b) and (e) of Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2003 on public access to environmental information and repealing Council Directive 90/313/EEC (OJ 2003 L 41, p. 26) — Exceptions to the right of access — Request for access involving more than one of the interests protected under Article 4(2) of the directive, the adverse effect on each interest being insufficient in itself to justify refusal of access

Operative part of the judgment

Article 4(2) of Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2003 on public access to environmental information and repealing Council Directive 90/313/EEC must be interpreted as meaning that, where a public authority holds environmental information or such information is held on its behalf, it may, when weighing the public interests served by disclosure against the interests served by refusal to disclose, in order to assess a request for that information to be made available to a natural or legal person, take into account cumulatively a number of the grounds for refusal set out in that provision.

* Language of the case: English.

ECLI:EU:C:2011:298

2011/C 298/09