Secrecy around EU Judges selection challenged in complaint to EU Ombudsman
Access Info Europe, represented by the EU Public Interest Clinic and The Good Lobby, has submitted a new complaint to the European Ombudsman about the refusal of the Council of the EU to disclose the opinions on the candidates’ suitability to become members of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). For each judicial appointment to the CJEU, a special panel – comprising seven former members of the CJEU, members of national supreme courts and lawyers of recognised competence, one of whom is proposed by the European Parliament – issues an opinion regarding the candidate’s suitability. This opinion is not made publicly available and is only shared with the member states. Since 2014, the clinic and Access Info have repeatedly sought access to the panel opinions because the public has a right to expect a high degree of transparency about the professional competence of candidates during the judicial selection process. Given the impact of the decisions taken by these judges on the everyday life of European citizens, they sought to defend the right of citizens to know why they had been selected (or rejected). The European Ombudsman opened an investigation in 2015 and after examining the panel’s opinions she encouraged the Council to reconsider […]
