Behind closed doors

The court case against Malta over spring bird hunting was held behind closed doors at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg this week, from IAR News:

Sources in Brussels explained that the decision to hear submissions by the Maltese government and the Commission in camera was taken by the court’s President Vassilios Skouris. This decision is permissible under European rules, but hearings are normally held publicly. However, owing to the sensitivity of this case, particularly for Malta, it was decided that it would be better for both parties to submit their arguments in a more informal way. The same source said that most probably this situation would keep hunters who wanted to be present at the case out of the court room.

The court’s decision to hold an oral hearing before handing down judgment was taken at the end of March following the sending of the defence dossier prepared by Malta to the EU Executive. Malta made its defence submissions on March 7. This was the last day of the 15-day deadline given by Luxembourg. The Commission’s counter-submissions were presented to the court on March 14.

The hearing on Wednesday 2 April was held before the court’s President, responsible for deciding on the issue of "interim measures". It was attended only by the two defence teams, one headed by Malta’s Attorney General Silvio Camilleri and the other by Italian EC official Donatella Recchia who is heading the Commission’s legal team.

Sources in Brussels who are following the case for International Animal Rescue stated that it was not yet clear whether the court would make a formal decision immediately after hearing the submissions. This meant that the Government of Malta would not be able to open the hunting season for this year...