If the administration refuses to communicate the information, you must refer the matter to the Commission for Access to Administrative Documents. It is an independent administrative authority responsible for ensuring freedom of access to administrative documents, public archives and the use of public information for other purposes.
Complaint
You may decide to complain if you have been denied access to the information you have requested and you think that this decision is disproportional and lacks sufficient or valid reasoning.
If you decide to complain, you must first appeal the decision that denies you access to the Commission for access to administrative documents:
- if the Commission accepts your application, it sends its opinion/conclusions to the administration that refused to disclose the information
- if the Commission rejects your applications, this means that it confirms the administration’s refusal to communicate, and therefore you must refer the matter to the administrative court
important Complaining to the Commission is compulsory before filing a complaint before the administrative court. If you do not refer the matter to the Commission first, your application will be manifestly inadmissible.
Appeal before the Commission for access to administrative documents
When can you apply?
The matter must be referred to the Commission within 2 months after notification of the refusal by the administration, or if there is no response from the administration within one month.
How to apply?
You can contact the Commission by:
- an online form
- e-mail: cada@cada.fr
- sending a letter to the following address: Commission d’accès aux documents administratifs, TSA 50730, 75334 PARIS CEDEX 07
- mention your identity, address and the purpose of your request
- attach a copy of the decision rejecting your request or a copy of your unanswered request
important There is no need to use several referral methods at the same time.
Procedure
Applying to the Commission is free of charge.
On receipt of your application, the Commission contacts the administration holding the disputed documents. The Commission has 1 month to decide on the decision of the administration that refused your request.
important The Commission cannot send you the documents, even if its decision finds your request acceptable. The Commission can only issue its opinion on the question, it cannot order the administration to disclose the requested information.
The administration then has 1 month to inform the Commission of the actions it intends to take on the request. If the administration does not answer at the end of this time limit, an implicit decision of refusal to disclose the requested document is considered to be taken.
You can apply to the Administrative Court if:
- the Commission has refused your request
- the Commission has accepted your request, but the administration still refuses to disclose the information.
Appeal before the Administrative Court (tribunal administratif)
You can lodge an appeal before the administrative court within 2 months after the administration's final decision (or silence). The decision of the administration is considered final 2 months after your appeal to the Commission has been received. This is because the Commission has one month to take its decision and then the administration has one month to act on the Commission’s decision.
example If the Commission registers your application on 1 October 2022 and you receive no response from the administration two months after, this implicit decision of refusal is considered effective from 1 December 2022. You then have two months, until 1 February 2023, to lodge an appeal.
The competent court is the one where the administration in question is located.
If the administrative court considers that the refusal of communication is illegal, it can:
- annul the administration's decision to refuse access
- require the administration to provide you with the document
If the administrative court rejects your request, you can challenge the decision in cassation before the Council of State. There is no appeal before an administrative court of appeal.