Judicial Protection in the EU Energy Market: Standing Criteria and the Reviewability of ACER Decisions after the 2025 General Court’s Judgments

Abstract This paper analyses the General Court’s judgments of 25 June 2025 (RWE and Uniper) regarding the reviewability of ACER regulatory acts. The General Court endorsed a “hybrid approach,” excluding acts of general application from the jurisdiction of the Board of Appeal and subjecting them solely to judicial review under Article 263(4) TFEU. The study highlights how this interpretation creates significant procedural gaps and bureaucratic burdens for private parties. By contrasting these rulings with the more flexible standing criteria recently adopted by the Court of Justice (e.g., Nicoventures Case), the paper argues that the current framework fragments the EU system of judicial protection and undermines the principle of procedural economy in highly technical sectors.