Acceso usuarios
Carl Fredrik Bergström
The judgment in Case C-583/11 P concerns, most obviously, the interpretation of the fourth paragraph of Article 263 TFEU and the significance of the longstanding condition of individual concern for natural and legal persons who seek to bring an action for annulment before the Court of Justice against a EU legal act which is not specifically addressed to them. The traditionally restrictive approach taken by the Court in its interpretation of that condition has been one of the most contentious issues in EU law, and following a reform introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, a new possibility was introduced for natural and legal persons to bring such an action without any condition of individual concern against a regulatory act which is of direct concern to them and does not entail implementing measures (third limb of fourth paragraph of Article 263 TFEU). The main concern of the appellants in this case was to secure an interpretation of the fourth paragraph of Article 263 TFEU which, one way or another, would allow them standing to challenge the validity of a legal act adopted by the European Parliament and the Council subject to a legislative procedure. The judgment corfims that the concept of regulatory act does not extend to such a legislative act and that the Courts interpretation of the pre-existing condition of individual concern, which the appellants had to satisfy, has not changed. Obviously, this judgment does not answer all questions which may be asked with respect to the interpretation of the fourth paragraph of Article 263
