No access to confidential release results

The Higher Administrative Court for North Rhine-Westphalia in Münster (OVG NW, decision of January 2, 2009 – 13a F 31/07 –) had to decide on such a case. An operator had applied for and received a permit to release genetically modified wheat at two locations. Based on a general right to environmental information, the plaintiff requested information about which gene had been used to achieve the desired increased tolerance of wheat to Fusarium species. The Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) had made the administrative files available to him, with the exception of nine pages containing confidential data. The court invoked Section 17a Paragraph 1 of the Genetic Engineering Act (GenTG).
The Higher Administrative Court has now deemed the refusal to be lawful. Trade and business secrets represent all facts, circumstances, and processes related to a company that are not public knowledge, but accessible only to a limited circle of people, and in whose non-disclosure the legal entity has a legitimate interest. Trade secrets essentially comprise technical knowledge in the broadest sense. Business secrets primarily concern commercial knowledge. The information about the genetic modifications, in particular the origin of each fragment of the region intended for insertion, constituted such information. In this context, the court clarified that the risk assessment does not constitute trade and business secrets.

This publication can also be found on the website of the law firm Dr. Kauch .