47In the present case, concerning, in the first place, the criterion that there must be a causal link between the procedural defect invoked and the content of the final contested decision (‘the condition of causality’), it is to be noted that, by requiring Member States to ensure that the members of the public concerned have the opportunity to bring an action challenging the substantive or procedural legality of decisions, acts or omissions falling within the scope of Directive 85/337, the Union legislature – as has been pointed out in paragraph 36 above – has in no way limited the pleas in law that may be put forward in support of an action. In any event, it was not the intention of the legislature to make the possibility of invoking a procedural defect conditional upon that defect’s having an effect on the purport of the contested final decision.
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