scholarly journals Information Disclosure and Environmental Rights: The Aarhus Convention

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 10-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Mason
Keyword(s):  
Information Disclosure ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Environmental Rights ◽  
Regulatory Processes ◽  
Aarhus Convention ◽  
Structural Imbalance ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Disclosure Obligations

Access to information is the first “pillar” of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (1998). This article examines how the information disclosure obligations on states within the Aarhus Convention express a particular blend of human environmental rights, conjoining procedural entitlements (and duties) with a substantive right to an environment adequate to human health and well-being. “Aarhus environmental rights” have been lauded for increasing citizen access to environmental information, helping to secure more transparent and accountable regulatory processes. However, the information rights are rendered inconsistent in practice by three properties: 1) the discretion accorded to Convention Parties in interpreting Aarhus rights; 2) the exclusion of private entities from mandatory information disclosure duties; and 3) the indeterminate coupling of procedural and substantive rights. These tensions reflect a structural imbalance in the articulation of Aarhus rights between social welfare and market liberal perspectives.

scholarly journals IMPLEMENTING PRINCIPLE 10 OF THE 1992 RIO DECLARATION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE AARHUS CONVENTION 1998 AND THE ESCAZÚ AGREEMENT 2018

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (55) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Sidney GUERRA ◽  
Giulia PAROLA
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Environmental Rights ◽  
Healthy Environment ◽  
Aarhus Convention ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
America Latina

ABSTRACTTwenty years after the signature of the UNECE  Convention  on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, (the Aarhus Convention, 1998) on March 4, 2018 –and after six years of negotiations-,twenty-four countries in Latin American and the Caribbean adopted the Escazú Convention, the first ever legally binding treaty on environmental rights in the Region. The Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, once ratified by the signatories, will affect the constitutions and the legislations in Latin America and the Caribbean in environmental matters, serving as a framework to increase the level of the protection on environmental participatory rights in the region. The objective of this article is to give an overview of both treaties. Part I will briefly outline the context and the negotiating process of the two texts. Then, Part II will consist of a comparative analysis, that will scrutinise the structure of the treaties, the notion of democracy and the substantive right to a healthy environment. Finally, the Part III will compare the three pillars recognised in both documents and underline the similarities, the differences between the three pillars, and the steps forwards for Environmental Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean. KEYWORDS: Right to access; Aarhus Convention; Escazú Agreement; Environmental Democracy; Latin America and Caribbean. RESUMOVinte anos após a assinatura da Convenção sobre Acesso à Informação, Participação no Processo de Tomada de Decisão e Acesso à Justiça em Matéria de Ambiente UN/ECE (Convenção de Aarhus, 1998) e após seis anos de negociações, vinte e quatro países da América Latina e do Caribe adotaram a Convenção Escazú, o primeiro tratado juridicamente vinculante sobre direito ambiental na Região. O Acordo Regional sobre Acesso à Informação, Participação Pública e Justiça em Matéria de Ambiente na América Latina e no Caribe, uma vez ratificado, produzira efeitos na ordem jurídica interna dos Estados partes em matéria ambiental e servirá para aumentar o nível de proteção dos direitos de participação ambiental na região. O objetivo deste artigo é fornecer uma visão geral de ambos os tratados. A parte I delineará brevemente o contexto e o processo de negociação dos dois textos. A Parte II consistirá numa análise comparativa que examinará a estrutura dos tratados, a noção de democracia e o direito substantivo a um ambiente saudável. Por fim, a Parte III se destina a comparar os três pilares reconhecidos em ambos os documentos e sublinhar as semelhanças, as diferenças entre os três pilares e os passos a serem tomados para o Direito Ambiental na América Latina e no Caribe. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Acesso à justiça; Convenção de Aarhus; Acordo de Escazú; Democracia Ambiental; América Latina e Caribe

LOS DERECHOS AMBIENTALES DE INFORMACIÓN, PARTICIPACIÓN Y JUSTICIA Y SU RÉGIMEN EN LA COMUNIDAD AUTÓNOMA VASCA

2010 ◽  
pp. 867-904
Author(s):  
JOSÉ ANTONIO RAZQUIN LIZARRAGA
Keyword(s):  
Public Participation ◽  
Basque Country ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Environmental Rights ◽  
Aarhus Convention ◽  
The Impact

Los derechos de acceso a la información, participación pública y acceso a la justicia han avanzado con la aplicación del Convenio de Aarhus de 1998 y de las Directivas comunitarias de 2003 por la Ley estatal 27/2006, que ha afectado a su pionera regulación por la Ley vasca 3/1998, General de protección del medio ambiente. Aquí se estudia el régimen jurídico de los derechos ambientales de la ciudadanía en la Comunidad Autónoma Vasca, mostrando los cambios derivados de la nueva normativa y su incidencia en la legislación autonómica, así como su aplicación práctica y los retos pendientes para su cumplimiento real y efectivo. Informazioa eskuratzeko, bizitza publikoan parte hartzeko eta justizia eskuratzeko eskubideek aurrera egin dute 1998ko Aarhus Ituna eta, Estatuaren 27/2006 Legearen bidez, 2003ko Erkidegoko Direktibak aplikatzearen ondorioz, eragina izan baitu Ingurumena Babesteko EAEko 3/1998 Lege Orokor aitzindarian. Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoko herritarren ingurumeneko eskubideen araubide juridikoa ikertzen da, arau berrietatik ondorioztatzen diren aldaketak eta autonomiaren legeetan duten eragina erakutsiz. Araudi horren aplikazio praktikoa eta benetan eta ganoraz betetzeko erronka ere izan dira lanaren xede. The rights of access to information, public participation in decisionmaking and access to justice in environmental matters have improved by the Act 2006/27 approved in application of Aarhus Convention on 1998 and European Directives on 2003, affecting the pioneering regulation in Basque Act 1998/3. This paper studies the system of environmental rights in the Basque Country, showing the changes prompted by the new regulation, the impact in regional legislation and the measures envisaged to implementation. At the end, public authorities must continue working to real and effective fulfilment of environmental rights.

The Escazú Agreement and the Regional Approach to Rio Principle 10: Process, Innovation, and Shortcomings

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 533-545
Author(s):  
Stephen Stec ◽  
Jerzy Jendrośka
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Burden Of Proof ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
Caribbean Region ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Regional Approach ◽  
Aarhus Convention ◽  
Specific Activities ◽  
Latin American And Caribbean

Abstract The adoption in 2018 of the Escazú Agreement by the countries of the Latin American and Caribbean region marks the second regional legal instrument aimed at the implementation of Principle 10 of the 1992 Rio Declaration, joining the Aarhus Convention of the pan-European region. The international community has settled upon the regional level as the appropriate means for implementing standards related to access to information, public participation, and access to justice in environmental matters. The appropriateness of the regional level is demonstrated by the differences and innovations found in the Escazú Agreement, in its scope and definitions, background principles, burden of proof and protections of environmental defenders and vulnerable populations. Yet, the regional approach also entails risks, as demonstrated by the limitation of the scope of rights for nationals of the country where specific activities are planned or occurring.

Science, Ethics, and the “Problems” of Governing Nanotechnologies

2009 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 749-758 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda F. Hogle
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Societal Implications ◽  
Cross Link ◽  
Specific Knowledge ◽  
Novel Technologies ◽  
Regulatory Processes ◽  
Political Boundaries ◽  
The Status ◽  
Health And Well Being

That cacophony you hear is coming from the growing number of commentators addressing ethical, social, and policy issues raised by nanotechnology. Like many novel technologies that disturb the status quo, nanotechnologies raise questions about the adequacy of oversight systems; the extent to which the technologies push legal, moral, and political boundaries; and ultimately, the implications for human health and well-being. Because nanoscale techniques and products challenge our ways of thinking about biology, physics, and chemistry, nanotechnology forces us to reconsider accepted wisdom on toxicity, mutagenicity, contamination, biocompatibility, and other interactions among humans, the environment, and technologies. The sheer scale and reach of nanotechnologies demands institutions, collaborations, and conventions that can cross-link knowledge across organizations, disciplines, and locales. If ever there was an occasion to rethink the limits of disciplinary-specific knowledge, norms about regulatory processes, and societal implications of new technologies, nanotechnologies provide the opportunity.

Citizen’s Rights in European Environmental Law: Stock-Taking of Key Challenges and Current Developments in Relation to Public Access to Information, Participation and Access to Justice

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-90
Author(s):  
J. Jendrośka
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Law ◽  
National Level ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Public Access ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Aarhus Convention ◽  
Compliance Mechanism ◽  
Implementation Problems

The article aims to provide a short overview of the current situation regarding public access to information, participation and access to justice in Europe. The article briefly presents the role of the Aarhus Convention and its compliance mechanism in shaping the respective legal framework at both national level and EU level. On that basis it summarises some key challenges and implementation problems respectively in relation to public access to information, participation and access to justice.

The Right of Access to Environmental Information and Legal Transplant Theory: Lessons from London and Beijing

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 509-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Whittaker
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Information ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Legal Transplant ◽  
Legal Reforms ◽  
Aarhus Convention ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Right Of Access

AbstractThis article analyzes the potential for legal transplant theory to strengthen the legal regimes that guarantee the right of access to environmental information in England and China. Guaranteed by the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, the right has a substantial impact on how individuals can act as environmental stewards. However, despite the framework provided by the Aarhus Convention, there are shortcomings in how these states guarantee the right when compared with the obligations set by the provisions of the Convention. The article applies Alan Watson’s legal transplant theory to the environmental information regimes in England and China and considers the likelihood of each jurisdiction sourcing legal reforms from the other. It also seeks to identify common trends shared by each jurisdiction and the impact of the Aarhus Convention on such transplants.

scholarly journals The Right of Access to Environmental Information in the Aarhus Convention Paradigm: Implementation Experience in Some States

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (91) ◽  
pp. 116-122
Author(s):  
E. D. Makritskaia ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Information ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Aarhus Convention ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Types Of Information ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Right Of Access ◽  
Implementation Experience

The study analyzed some provisions of the Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making, and access to justice in environmental matters directly related to the right to access to environmental information (in particular, articles 4 and 5 of the Convention, which regulate directly access to environmental information and the collection and dissemination of environmental information, respectively). The components of this right have been studied and described, as well as the main legal terms relating to the law in the text of the Aarhus Convention, such as “environmental information”, “as short as possible”. The work also analyzed and identified those types of information that, based on the provisions of the Convention, relating to environmental information. The paper provides examples of the impact of the Aarhus Convention on the national legislation of some States, as well as a mechanism for implementing the right of access to environmental information in the Republic of Belarus. Based on the study, general provisions on the right of access to environmental information are described, as well as the fact that the language of the Aarhus Convention is widely used in the legislation of States parties to the convention, and the right of access to environmental information itself is integral and multidimensional.

“Unlocking Legal Gridlock in High-Income Countries: How Excessive Litigation Hampers Growth and Harms Democracy”

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Rasquin
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
High Standard ◽  
Standard Of Living ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
European Law ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Aarhus Convention

Abstract The paper focuses on rules of standing in the context of environmental law. With the implementation of the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making, and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) in European law, interest groups have become major players in the enforcement of environmental regulations. Although such interest groups can help to reduce enforcement deficits, their involvements create the risk of regulatory gridlock, with excessive litigation lengthening approval processes which can discourage investment in public and private infrastructure. The paper discusses the implementation of the Aarhus Convention in Germany, highlights ways to overcome administrative gridlock and facilitate effective approval procedures. If implemented, these strategies will enable Germany’s economy to remain competitive, supporting the maintenance of the country’s high standard of living and strong welfare state.

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