Aarhus Convention
The UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, usually known as the Aarhus Convention, was signed on 25 June 1998 in the Danish city of Aarhus. It entered into force on 30 October 2001. As of March 2014, it had 47 parties—46 states and the European Union.[1] All of the ratifying states are in Europe and Central Asia. The EU has begun applying Aarhus-type principles in its legislation, notably the Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC). Liechtenstein and Monaco have signed the convention but have not ratified it.
The Aarhus Convention grants the public rights regarding access to information, public participation and access to justice, in governmental decision-making processes on matters concerning the local, national and transboundary environment. It focuses on interactions between the public and public authorities.
Content
The Aarhus Convention is a multilateral
General features
The Aarhus Convention is a rights-based approach: the intent is for the public to have awareness of the procedures for participation in environmental decision-making, have free access to them and know how to use them.
A distinction is made between "the public", all the civil society's actors, and the "public concerned" precisely, those persons or organisations affected or interested in environmental decision-making (e.g. environmental NGOs).[7] "
Other significant provisions are the "non-discrimination" principle (all the information has to be provided without taking account of the nationality or citizenship of the applicant), the international nature of the convention,[9][10] and the importance attributed to the promotion of environmental education of the public.
The Three Pillars
- Access to information: any citizen should have the right to get a wide and easy access to environmental information. Public authorities must provide all the information required and collect and disseminate them and in a timely and transparent manner. They can refuse to do it only under particular situations (such as national defence);[11][12]
- Public participation in decision making: the public must be informed over all the relevant projects and it has to have the chance to participate during the decision-making and legislative process. Decision makers can take advantage from people's knowledge and expertise; this contribution is a strong opportunity to improve the quality of the environmental decisions, outcomes and to guarantee procedural legitimacy[13][12]
- Access to justice: the public has the right to judicial or administrative recourse procedures in case a Party violates or fails to adhere to environmental law and the convention's principles.[12][14]
Further reflections
The Aarhus convention is a "proceduralisation of the environmental regulation",[15][16] it focuses more on setting and listing procedures rather than establishing standards and specifying outcomes, permitting the parties involved to interpret and implement the convention on the systems and circumstances that characterize their nation. This model embodies a perfect example of a multi-level governance.
The risk could lay in a loss of time and resources that could be otherwise invested in defining the outcomes,[17] notwithstanding the fact that it renders the convention vague, weak and open to multiple interpretations.[18] Other critiques note the fact that private bodies are excluded from the mandatory procedures (Mason, 2010), and that, moreover, it can also be debated whether the NGOs involved are faithfully representing environmental interests,[19][20] ordinary citizens often do not have the financial means to participate effectively and are therefore have no choice but to be represented by these larger organisations. The relative differences between the participants and social groups' resource inequalities also suggests the possibility for irregular and imbalanced environmental protection.[21]
Compliance Committee
The Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee was established to fulfill the requirement of Article 15 of the convention on review of compliance to establish arrangements for reviewing compliance with the convention.[22] The convention has a unique Compliance Review Mechanism, which can be triggered in four ways:
- a Party makes a submission concerning its own compliance,
- a Party makes a submission concerning another Party's compliance,
- the Convention Secretariat makes a referral to the committee, or
- a member of the public makes a communication concerning the compliance of a Party.
The Compliance mechanism is unique in international environmental law, as it allows members of the public to communicate concerns about a Party's compliance directly to a committee of international legal experts empowered to examine the merits of the case (the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee). Nonetheless, the Compliance Committee cannot issue binding decisions, but rather makes recommendations to the full Meeting of the Parties (MoP). However, in practice, as MoPs occur infrequently, Parties attempt to comply with the recommendations of the Compliance Committee. As of August 2009, 41 communication from the public – many originating with non-governmental organizations – and one submission from a Party had been lodged with the convention's Compliance Committee.[23]
Pollutant Release Protocol
The Kyiv Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers to the Aarhus Convention was adopted at an extraordinary meeting of the Parties on 21 May 2003, in
The Kyiv Protocol is the first legally binding international instrument on
Parties to the Protocol need not be parties to the convention. The Protocol is in this sense a free-standing, international agreement. The Kiev Protocol on PRTRs will enter into force 90 days after the sixteenth State ratifies or accedes to the agreement.
An amendment to the Aarhus Convention on "Public Participation in Decisions on Deliberate Release into the Environment and Placing on the Market of Genetically Modified Organisms" was adopted at the Second Meeting of the Parties on 27 May 2005, in Almaty, Kazakhstan. As of July 2023, it had been ratified by 32 countries; the GMO amendment required one further ratification to enter into force.[24]
United Nations Secretary-General
The influence of the Aarhus Convention extends beyond the environmental field. At the 2nd Internet Governance Forum, held on 12–15 May 2007, in Rio de Janeiro, the convention was presented as a model of public participation and transparency in the operation of international forums.
See also
- Freedom of information legislation
- Participatory monitoring
- Action for Climate Empowerment
References
- ^ "United Nations Treaty Collection". United Nations. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
- S2CID 53999669.
- .
- ^ Aarti, 2008, p.2
- ^ Rodehoff, 2003, p.350
- ^ Kravchenko, S (2007). "The Aarhus convention and innovations in compliance with multilateral environmental law and Policy". Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy. 18 (1): 1–50.
- S2CID 57566114.
- ^ Rodenhoff, 2003, p. 345
- .
- .
- ^ Rodenhoff, 2003, p.345
- ^ ISBN 9211169437. [E/]ECE/MP.PP/5. With link to PDF download.
- ^ Rodenhoff, 2003, p.346
- ^ Rodehoff, 2003, p.348
- ^ Aarti, 2008, p.3-4
- .
- ^ Aarti, 2008, p. 4
- ^ Lee, M.; Abbot, C., 2003, p. 100
- ISBN 978-0-415-30276-0.
- ^ Lee, M.; Abbot, C., 2003, p.89
- ^ Bell, 2004
- ^ "Background". UNECE. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ "Communications from the public". UNECE. Retrieved 5 August 2023. Updated as required.
- ^ a b "Status of ratification". UNECE. 3 July 2023. Updated as required.
- ISBN 92-1-116745-0.
External links
- UNECE Aarhus Convention website
- UNECE Aarhus Convention Clearinghouse website
- Case Law of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee (2004–2008)
- 2nd Edition of the Case Law of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee (2004–2011)
- For the Second Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention. 2005 Archived 26 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- For the Third Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention. 2008 Archived 4 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- For the Fourth Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention. 2011
- For the Fifth Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention. 2014
- The Aarhus Convention: A Legal Guide