Pirate Party MP Sven Clement, pictured in the Maison Moderne offices in November 2019, says the administrative court extricated itself in the easiest way possible by ruling itself incompetent to judge his request to gain access to confidential documents. Patricia Pitsch/Maison Moderne (archives)

Pirate Party MP Sven Clement, pictured in the Maison Moderne offices in November 2019, says the administrative court extricated itself in the easiest way possible by ruling itself incompetent to judge his request to gain access to confidential documents. Patricia Pitsch/Maison Moderne (archives)

MP Sven Clement told Delano’s sister publication Paperjam that the Pirate Party will “surely go to appeal” after the failure of his legal move to have access to the contract that grants RTL Group a public service mission for its RTL Lëtzebuerg media arm. The government had previously rejected Clement’s request.

The administrative court said that ruling on the case would risk violating the principle of the separation of powers. “The administrative judge cannot interfere in the relationship between the legislative and executive branches,” a press release stated. The court also argued that Clement had not made full use of the parliamentary control measures available to him, such as “asking a parliamentary question orally or in writing, or making an inquiry of the member of the government concerned”.

Clement told Paperjam that, given the confidentiality clause attached to the document in question, he had even requested that prime minister Xavier Bettel (DP), who is in charge of the media portfolio, answer questions in camera. He says that as an MP, it is his constitutional duty to control the work of the government. “Their [the administrative court] extrication, to declare themselves incompetent, I think was the easiest way to avoid having to discuss the substance of the matter,” Clement concluded.