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The High Court has referred two significant questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) concerning the lawfulness of charging fees for staff time spent processing requests for environmental information under Irish and EU law. The dispute arose after a public body imposed a fee for search, retrieval and compilation of environmental information, which the appellant argued was incompatible with international interpretations endorsed by the Aarhus Convention. The Court held that recent international developments may require a re-evaluation of previous EU case law, and sought guidance from the CJEU on whether such charges can lawfully be included. The case also raises whether, in light of the principle of equivalence, domestic legislation transposing EU environmental access rights may adopt a different fee regime to that of general freedom of information legislation. The proceedings are stayed pending the CJEU’s determination.
access to environmental information – fees for search – retrieval and compilation – European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007 – Directive 2003/4 – Aarhus Convention – Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee – principle of equivalence – Freedom of Information Act 2014 – overhead costs – public body – referral to Court of Justice of the European Union – preliminary ruling – stay of proceedings – interpretation of international law – environmental law compliance
Note: This is intended to be a fair and accurate report of a decision made public by a court of law. Any errors should be notified to the editor and will be dealt with accordingly.
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