The Aarhus Convention and Polish Regulations Concerning Parties to Proceedings for Issuing the eia Decisions

Abstract The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters was adopted on 25 June 1998 in the Danish city of Aarhus. According to its provisions each state Part shall, within the framework of the national legal order, ensure that members of the public concerned have access to a review procedure before a court of law or another independent and impartial body established by law. At the same time, it contains regulations specifying the criteria that constitute the basis for determining persons enjoying rights to access justice with respect to national legal orders. Poland, being one of the state Parties, introduced into national legal order special provisions enabling implementation of the Aarhus Convention, including regulations concerning parties to proceedings in environmental matters. The aim of the study is to analyse and assess these regulations in the light of the requirements adopted in the Aarhus Convention and to formulate general conclusions in the field of key issues of the international and European environmental law and policy.

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Growing Resolve: A Review of An Introduction to Environmental Law and Policy in Canada by Paul Muldoon, Alastair Lucas, Robert Gibson, and Peter Pickfield

Alberta Law Review ◽

10.29173/alr179 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 1047

Author(s):

Elaine Hughes

Keyword(s):

Pollution Control ◽

General Public ◽

Environmental Law ◽

Legal Action ◽

Toxic Substances ◽

Paul Muldoon ◽

The Public ◽

Law And Policy ◽

Daunting Task ◽

Environmental Law And Policy

In 2005, commenting on a government review of the main federal toxic substances control legislation, Jason Unger aptly described the general public’s usual role in Canadian environmental law: “[They are] left to wander a maze of legislative and non-legislative instruments, each with varying amounts of transparency, to determine whether standards for a particular substance exists, what the standards are, whether they are being met and whether they can take legal action to enforce them.” Explaining our system of pollution control and resource management law to the general public — where it came from, why it was chosen, in what way it (even remotely) seems rational, how it works, what flaws it has, how to use it, and how one might improve it — is a daunting task indeed. Nevertheless, authors Paul Muldoon, Alastair Lucas, Robert Gibson, and Peter Pickfield set out in An Introduction to Environmental Law and Policy in Canada to provide a primer on these issues for interested students and members of the public.

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The ECJ Rules Environmental NGOs Must Have Access to Justice in Water Law Procedures

elni Review ◽

10.46850/elni.2018.002 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 7-10

Author(s):

Summer Kern ◽

Gregor Schamschula

Keyword(s):

Case Law ◽

Water Law ◽

Access To Justice ◽

United Nations Economic Commission ◽

Member States ◽

International Treaty ◽

Economic Commission ◽

Aarhus Convention ◽

Environment And Development ◽

The Eu

The Aarhus Convention was adopted in 1998 within the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, following Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. This principle states that “[e]nvironmental issues are best handled with the participation of all concerned citizens [...]”. The Convention is an international treaty with three pillars, namely (1) Access to Information; (2) Public Participation; and (3) Access to Justice. As the Implementation Guide makes clear: “The three pillars depend on each other for full implementation of the Convention’s objectives.” The Convention has as of the date of this publication 47 Parties. Austria ratified the treaty in early 2005, as did the EU. As made clear by the EU’s declaration upon ratification, implementation of the Aarhus Convention partly falls within the competence of the EU and partly within the competence of the Member States. With regards to Art. 9(3) in particular, the EU declared upon approval of the Convention that “the legal instruments in force do not cover fully the implementation of the obligations.” Yet the EU has recognized the drawbacks of this lack of implementation at the EU level repeatedly, and most recently issued a Notice on Access to Justice for the Member States so as to achieve better implementation and consistency within the Member States. This article assesses the current developments of implementation with regard to Access on Justice in Austrian Water Law. The ruling in question can certainly be seen as milestone in environmental case law.

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Article 9.2 of the Aarhus Convention and eu Law

Journal for European Environmental & Planning Law ◽

10.1163/18760104-01104004 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 367-391 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jan Darpö

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Environmental Law ◽

Access To Justice ◽

Environmental Decision Making ◽

Aarhus Convention ◽

Key Issues ◽

Important Means ◽

Judicial Protection ◽

Environmental Decision

One important means for the implementation of the third pillar of the Aarhus Convention into eu law is the provisions on access to justice in the eia Directive (2011/92). The case-law of the cjeu on those provisions has developed rapidly in the last couple of years. This body of cases has given the concept “access to justice in environmental decision-making” a new meaning and improved the understanding of the requirement for judicial protection under eu environmental law. The aim of this article is to highlight this development and discuss a couple of key issues on access to justice. First, the relationship between “direct effect” and the individuals “rights” and the principles of effectiveness and judicial protection according to eu law is analysed. Thereafter, the meaning of “substantive and procedural legality” and the distinction between general and personal interests in relation to individual’s standing are discussed. The next issue concerns the role of environmental non-governmental organisations. Finally, the concept “courts or tribunals” in environmental decision-making procedures is considered.

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Parks as Gyms? Recreational Paradigms and Public Health in the National Parks

American Journal of Law & Medicine ◽

10.1177/009885880403000203 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 30 (2-3) ◽

pp. 155-188

Author(s):

Jay D. Wexler

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

National Parks ◽

Environmental Law ◽

Health And Safety ◽

Toxic Substances ◽

The Public ◽

Law And Policy ◽

The Relationship ◽

Public Health And Safety ◽

Environmental Law And Policy

When scholars and policymakers think about the relationship between public health and environmental law and policy, they likely think first about controlling pollution and other toxic substances. As other articles have amply demonstrated, water pollution, air pollution, and other environmental toxins can have significant deleterious effects on the public's health. Scholars rightly pay serious attention to these relationships, and policymakers wisely devise methods and strategies to ameliorate the public health risks posed by these polluting substances.Although pollution control might be the most obvious and important intersection between environmental policy and public health, legal and policy decisions regarding the management and preservation of the nation's natural resources potentially also significantly affect the public's health. Preserving plant and animal species, allocating water resources, and managing the nation's public lands, just to name a few examples, all potentially bear on matters of public health and safety.

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