The locus standi of private applicants after the treaty of Lisbon : was it extended?

Abstract

The private applicants’ possibility of initiating annulment proceeding against EU acts is highly dependent on the requirements of locus standi. The interpretation of the standing rules given by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has been criticised as being overly restrictive and preventing individual parties from enjoying the effective judicial protection of their rights. To this end, the drafters of the Lisbon Treaty decided to amend the rules governing the locus standi of private applicants. The main novelty introduced in the new Article 263(4) TFEU (ex. 230(4)) was the relaxation of the standing requirements in relation to the new category of acts, i.e. regulatory acts. This thesis will focus on the impact of the Lisbon amendments in on the position of the private applicants in annulments proceedings. The restrictive interpretation of locus standi and how this has developed in the CJEU case law will first be discussed. Then the thesis will analyse the attempts of Advocate General Jacobs in the UPA case and the General Court in the Jégo-Quéré et Cie SA v Commission case to reform the restrictive standing rules which are directly linked to the amendments in the Lisbon Treaty. The discussion will then turn towards an assessment of the scope of the Lisbon reform. In order to do this, references will be made to the relevant judgements of the EU Courts (Case C-583/11P Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami; Case T- 262/10 Microban International) which, to a certain extent, aid in the interpretation of the new concept of ‘regulatory acts’. Finally, the thesis will examine whether the problem of access to judicial review of EU acts by private parties was addressed successfully by the Lisbon Treaty and if the principle of effective judicial protection has been strengthened by these amendments.