Handbook on access to justice under the Aarhus Convention (original) (raw)
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Research Handbook on EU Environmental Law, 2020
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Access to Justice in Environmental Matters
Journal for European Environmental & Planning Law, 2014
Proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Community, of the Convention on access to information, public participation in decision making and access to justice regarding environmental matters, COM (2003) 625 final. 3 Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the application of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters to EC institutions and bodies, COM (2003) 622 final.
2012
The Republic of Serbia ratified the Aarhus Convention in 2009. The country has also initiated the process of accession to the European Union, and is gradually transposing EU regulations – as well as implementing them – into the legal system of the Republic of Serbia. This is a complex and demanding task. The EU’s regulatory system will bear fruit only when its most important components are functioning. On the other hand, it is possible to achieve significant progress towards Aarhus Convention implementation even without the whole environmental structure yet in place. Aarhus Convention implementation thus provides an opportunity to enhance the EU accession process in a cost-effective way. The introduction of modern, long-term policies towards sustainable development, the democratisation of policy making, and easing of the EU accession process are sufficient reasons for implementing the Aarhus Convention’s Strategy, and this in turn will in the short run bring benefits to the Republic of Serbia.
THE MISSING LINk: ACCESS TO JUSTICE IN ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS
ECLIC (EU and Comparative Law Issues and Challenges Series), Issue 4, 2020
It is widely recognized that environmental protection, social benefits and economic issues must go hand in hand. In the European Union, Environment Action Programmes (EAPs) have guided the development of EU environmental policy since the 1970s, and they have strengthened the achievement of environmental goals and the integration of environmental interests in other EU policy areas. Given their joint responsibility, EU environmental policy provides added value both for the EU and its Member States. Until the end of 2020 the 7th EAP is the agreed framework of environmental policy-making, and discussions are underway on developing the 8th EAP. Between 2014 and 2020, some progress has been made towards achieving the goals of the programme. For example, the 7th EAP provided more predictability of environmental policy and facilitated Member States’ policy coordination. Nevertheless, the evaluation of the 7th EAP proves that EU legislation is going in the right direction, but the impacts cannot be seen with actions on the ground. The environmental acquis of the EU continues to grow, but the efforts are insufficient to implement it. Broad difficulties with the coherent implementation of environmental policy can be perceived at national level, too. That is the main reason why different stakeholders (particularly environmental NGOs) play a decisive role in environmental policy-making, implementation and enforcement. The evidence base indicates that the involvement of the members of the public can reduce the enforcement deficit of EU environmental law, but more needs to be done at all levels. In 1998, the EU and all the Member States signed the Aarhus Convention on environmental rights, including access to justice in environmental matters. On 17 March 2017, the Compliance Committee (ACCC) found the EU to be in violation of the Convention by failing to provide members of the public with access to the EU courts. On the other side, the Commission adopted a proposal on access to justice in environmental matters in 2003, but the proposal did not gather sufficient support from the national governments. The Commission therefore withdrew the proposal in 2014. Nonetheless, the Commission has delayed remedying this issue, even contrary to calls by international bodies and its fellow institutions. In October 2019, the European Council called upon the Commission to present at the latest by early 2020 an ambitious and focused proposal for the 8th EAP (2021-2030), and underlined that the new programme must address environmental governance, such as public participation and access to justice. Hopefully, the missing link of EU environmental legislation will be resolved by the EU institutions as soon as possible.
Access to Justice in Environmental Matters: Which Role for the European Networks of Judges?
Journal for European Environmental and Planning Law, 2014-2, 2014
This article explores the role of judicial networks in the development of environmental legal policies in the European Union. It first recalls the increasing importance of environmental protection in the EU and the role of courts in environmental governance, as well as the peculiarity of the environmental field as particularly fecund one for transnational dialogue. It then analyzes the debate on the implementation of article 9 (3) of the Aarhus Convention with regard to the right to legal standing of private associations, highlighting that national judges share an open approach to the matter. It concludes by observing that, from the environmental perspective, national courts and judges take seriously their duty to participate in the development of European law and legal policies while keeping their autonomy, and that their interactions may indicate the shaping of a European judicial community within a larger European legal field
Measures on Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Article 9(3))
2007
Although Malta has both a general as well as a more specific remedy that provides for access to justice via judicial review for environmental issues, it is not fully in line with the provisions of article 9 (3) of the Aarhus Convention. This is mainly because Maltese law has predated Malta’s ratification of the Convention and although when introduced these judicial remedies did reflect innovative legal thinking, nowadays they fall short of the requirements dictated by the notion of direct access to justice on environmental matters to the individual and to NGOs, that is typical of the Aarhus Convention. The Maltese authorities have acknowledged that there is this gap and have issued public statements that the matter is currently being subjected to a legal exercise that would eventually harmonise Maltese legislation with the Aarhus Convention]. Malta does not have an administrative procedure for access to justice, which can be used for environmental matters. These remedies consist of ...
The European Union and Environmental Democracy: The Aarhus Convention in EU Law
Justinianus Primus Law Review (2015) Volume VI Issue 2 (indexed in EBSCO and HeinOnline)
The 1998 Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, which the EU ratified in 2005, is arguably the most prominent international legal instrument in the field of environmental democracy. This paper explores the transposition of the Aarhus Convention rules to the EU plane, examining the modalities in which such transposition has occurred as well as the legal nature of and the legal repercussions stemming from this transposition which at the present moment still remains far from complete. The paper looks in turn at the three foundational pillars of the Aarhus Convention (access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters), inquiring into the corresponding expression the obligations foreseen under each of these pillars have found within the Union legal framework. http://lawreview.pf.ukim.edu.mk/