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The High Court has referred important questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) concerning delay and the duty of timeliness in decisions under environmental information access regulations. The case arose after a community group challenged repeated remittals by a statutory body, which had prolonged resolution of their request for environmental information over several years, following a cycle of refusal, appeal, and remittal, with delayed communications and internal reviews. Although the main substantive issue was now largely academic due to procedural developments, the Court found that the lawfulness and timeliness of remitting decisions—especially after prolonged and repeated delays—required clarity. The Court declined to quash the specific remittal decision but held that declaratory relief was appropriate and referred two key questions to the CJEU about the extent of the obligation under EU and Aarhus Convention law to ensure timely and effective remedies, particularly where remittal risks further delay as compared to the statutory body's deciding the issue itself.
environmental information – access to information on the environment – timeliness – Aarhus Convention – judicial review – remittal – remedy – EU law – Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Court of Justice of the European Union – certiorari – declaratory relief – Order 84 – Rules of the Superior Courts – internal review – effectiveness of remedies – administrative convenience
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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