IL CONSIGLIO DI STATO SUI LIMITI AL DIRITTO DI ACCESSO PER DOCUMENTI CHE LA P.A. DICHIARA DI NON POSSEDERE

The judgment under comment (Council of State, Fifth Section, n. 7787/2023) addresses two problematic issues. On the one hand, the ostensibility or otherwise of a document of which the Administration declares that it does not have the material and legal availability. On the other, in the face of such a declaration, on whom does the relevant evidentiary burden rest. The judges of the Palazzo Spada, affirmed that the declared unavailability of a document sterilizes the right of access, and further held that the burden of proof to the contrary of the document´s supposed availability rests on the applicant