ADMINISTRATIVE LAW | The Council of State on transparency and Trade Secrets in civic Access requests

On September 4, 2025, the Italian Council of State (Fifth Section) issued judgment no. 7201/2025, rejecting an appeal filed against the Prefecture of Potenza concerning a request for generalized civic access to the documents of a public procurement procedure.

The appellant had requested access not only to the contract itself but also to the technical offer submitted by the successful bidder. The administration denied disclosure on the grounds that the offer contained technical and commercial secrets, pursuant to Article 35(4) of Legislative Decree No. 36 of 31 March 2023 (the new Public Procurement Code).

The court emphasized that it is the responsibility of the administration to carry out a concrete and reasoned balancing between the public interest in transparency and the private interest in confidentiality, in accordance with the limits established by Article 5-bis(2)(c) of Legislative Decree No. 33/2013.

In support of this principle, the judgment refers to the Court of Justice of the European Union’s order of 10 June 2025 in Case C-686/24, which clarified that Article 39 of Directive (EU) No. 25 of 26 February 2014 precludes a national rule that requires the disclosure of documents containing technical or commercial secrets without allowing a balancing between the right of access and the protection of such secrets.

Newsletter n. 111 – October 2025