Recurrent: Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge
Recurred resolution: R/0854/2024
In the exercise of the right of access to public information, a request for access to various environmental information was submitted to the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, referring, in essence, to the reports sent as scientific authority CITES (that is, of the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) regarding the issuance of EU CITES certificates.
The requested Ministry issued a resolution agreeing to be inadmissible through the LTAIBG, considering the provisions of the second section of its First Additional Provision applicable as environmental information, which is responsible for applying the special administrative procedure provided for in Law 27/2006, of July 18, which regulates the rights of access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters, and refers the request to the competent authority, through the Environmental Information Office of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge.
The Council noted that, in accordance with the case law of the Administrative Litigation Division of the Supreme Court of 10 March 2022 (ECLI:ES:TS:2022:1033) and of 5 April 2022 (ECLI:ES:TS:2022:1422), as the body guaranteeing the exercise of the constitutional right of access to information, it is competent to hear this claim without prejudice to applying the substantive regime of the regulation of the right of access, taking into account the environmental content of the application, and those provisions of the LTAIBG that are applicable by default.
However, the requested Ministry did not respond to the request for access following its referral to the competent body, nor did it respond to the request for allegations made in the course of the proceedings before the Council. Consequently, given that the request is considered to be public environmental information, that the ministry claimed did not justify the application of any legal limit, the Council proceeded to estimate the claim filed.