So What is the Aarhus Convention?

The Aarhus Convention is a Treaty of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).  Adopted in 1998 in the Danish city of Aarhus, its full title is ‘Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters’.  The Aarhus Convention represents enforceable binding law in most member states of the European Union (EU), including the UK. With effect from 28 June 2007 all institutions, bodies, offices or agencies of the EU will also have to comply with the provisions of the Convention.

Designed to improve the way ordinary people engage with government and decision-makers on environmental matters, it is expected that the Convention will help to ensure that environmental information is easy to get hold of and easy to understand.  Campaigners are also hoping the convention will improve the way governments fund and deal with environmental cases.

The best way to understand the Convention’s remit is to break it down into three main areas: Access to Environmental Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice. These areas are often called the ‘three pillars’ of the convention.

Access to Environmental Information (Articles 4 and 5)

The ‘Access to Information’ section of the Convention explains the importance of ensuring that ordinary people have access to environmental information. Focusing on the principles of transparency and accountability this part of the Convention emphasizes the responsibility public authorities, e.g. schools, local authorities or government departments, have to reveal environmental information.

The Convention states that information must be presented in an easy to digest format and, if an organisation charges for information those costs must be ‘reasonable’.  Article 4 and 5 also help public authorities to decide what should and should not be made available under the Convention.  For instance: data on carbon emissions relevant to the protection of the environment should be disclosed but information that could have an impact on national security should not.

Public Participation (Articles 6 - 8)

Articles 6, 7 and 8 highlight the importance of involving the public in government decision-making on green policies, legislation and other environmental matters.  This part of the Convention emphasizes that the earlier members of the public and community groups get involved in the decision-making process, the greater impact their participation will have on the final outcome of a decision.

The Convention creates an obligation on decision makers to ensure the ‘early involvement’ of the public, when consulting on environmental matters.  It encourages governments to work with an inclusive spirit when developing plans, provisions and legal rules that could affect people’s quality of life.  The Convention states that in drafting rules and regulations governments shall strive to ‘promote effective public participation at the appropriate stage, and while options are still open’.  This is important because it highlights the need to gain a proper balance of representation from a diverse set of interests.

Access to Justice (Article 9)

Perceived as the weakest part of the convention, the ‘Access to Justice’ section explains how decisions made in relation to environmental case can be challenged.  In theory it is designed to ensure that all people gain environmental justice from the legal system. 

Unfortunately advocates of environmental justice believe that these provisions on access to justice are insufficient and as a result community groups and individual campaigners will still find it hard to initiate and win environmental cases in the courts.  On the other hand, environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) use their expertise and financial resources to play the odds and win environmental cases; however, this has often been done through the use of the Human Rights Act rather than the Aarhus Convention. 

This need for financial resources clearly illustrates why costs of legal actions are usually described as one of the most important barriers to environmental justice.  The Coalition for Access to Justice for the Environment (CAJE) therefore recommended the introduction of an ‘Aarhus Certificate’ for cases falling within the Aarhus Convention and other public interest cases. The certificate would enable judges to apply modified rules at an early stage in the legal proceedings, reducing undue uncertainty and risk for concerned individuals and public interest groups. It also recommended, prioritising funds within the Community Legal Services towards public interest environmental cases.

Why is the Aarhus Convention important?

Advocates of environmental justice, such as Capacity Global, agree that the Aarhus Convention provides a basis for the provision of environmental rights.  Through the Convention the concepts of ‘Access to Information’, ‘Public Participation’ (voting, campaigning, consultation, public meetings & events) and ‘Justice in environmental matters’ have been endorsed Europe-wide.
Capacity Global also believes that the Convention has made significant gains in developing a groundbreaking threshold of good practice regarding access to environmental information and public participation.  These gains could be considered as most significant for citizens in the new EU member states (such as Romania or Bulgaria) that are now bound by a common EU legal framework.

Essentially the Convention has the potential to provide socially excluded communities with the tools they need to influence and challenge decisions that will result in the degradation or destruction of the environment.  It places importance on environmental justice - a crucial factor in the drive to empower people to seek a good quality of life in a world that is, increasingly full of environmental hazards.

Links

You can access the Aarhus Convention in nearly 30 languages at
http://www.unece.org/env/pp/treatytext.htm

The Aarhus Convention’s official website ishttp://www.unece.org/env/pp/

For the UK the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) provides information on the Aarhus Convention at:http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/internat/aarhus/

“What’s in my backyard” – Environment Agency website giving citizens information about environmental issues and regulation in their area:http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/maps/

“Community Legal Service Direct” – Government funded website providing legal information online (including on environmental protection), and guidance on legal aid:http://www.clsdirect.org.uk/index.jsp?sfgdata=4

Glossary

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) is one of five UN regional commissions which provide a forum for communication among States. It brokers international legal instruments addressing trade, transport and the environment and supplies statistics and economic and environmental analysis.

A person who supports a certain position can be described as an advocate.

The Coalition for Access to Justice for the Environment (CAJE) is a group of NGOs comprising the Environmental Law Foundation (ELF), Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the Worldwide Fund (WWF) and Capacity Global.

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