Résumé
The requirement of transparency applies to the Unions institutions and bodies, in order to allow a consistent and constructive exchange with European citizens, as encouraged by new ankle 11 item 3 of the Treaty instituting the European Union, as well as EC regulation nDG 1049/2001 relating to access to the documents of some institutions. The European Union Court of Justice, even before its codification, had made a principle of the concept. However, no judge had had an opportunity to rule on me impact of the principle of transparency in legal proceedings. That has been done in the API ruling entered on September 21, 2010. Considering that proceeding documents play a vital role in the proper sequence of proceeding, and therefore help ensure fair proceedings, the Court of Justice does not hesitate to clarify the cases where the principle can be usefully claimed and those where, on the contrary, it has to be ruled out, including to reconcile the rights of defence with legitimate citizen information. The principle of transparency is therefore the subject of a specific application in legal proceedings. Adapted from the source document.