THE AARHUS CONVENTION THE AARHUS CONVENTION UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters

GLOBAL RELEVANCE OF THE CONVENTION "… The adoption of the Aarhus Convention was a giant step forward in the development of international law in this field.... Although regional in scope, the significance of the Aarhus Convention is global. It is by far the most impressive elaboration of principle 10 of the Rio Declaration... As such it is the most ambitious venture in the area of ‘environmental democracy’ so far undertaken under the auspices of the United Nations...." Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations

ORIGIN OF THE CONVENTION June 1992Rio Declaration principle 10 October 1995UNECE Guidelines on Access to Environmental Information and Public Participation in Decision-making (Sofia Guidelines) January 1996Special session to establish ad hoc WG for the preparation of a draft convention June ‘96 – March ‘98Negotiation of the draft Convention 25 June 1998Adoption of the Convention at the 4 th Ministerial “Environment for Europe” Conference, Aarhus Denmark. 30 October 2001Entry into force

CONTENT OF THE CONVENTION Objective, definitions, general features (art. 1-3)Objective, definitions, general features (art. 1-3) Pillar 1: Access to information Access to information (art. 4-5) Pillar 2: Public participation in decision-making (art. 6-8) Pillar 3: Access to Justice (art. 9) Final clauses (art ) Final clauses (art )

GENERAL FEATURES Recognition of citizens' rightsRecognition of citizens' rights Convention is 'floor' not 'ceiling’Convention is 'floor' not 'ceiling’ Broad definition of 'the public'Broad definition of 'the public' Broad definition of public authoritiesBroad definition of public authorities European Union institutions to be coveredEuropean Union institutions to be covered Non-discrimination provisionsNon-discrimination provisions Compliance review arrangementsCompliance review arrangements Open to non-ECE countriesOpen to non-ECE countries

ACCESS TO INFORMATION Passive Any person has access (no need to prove or even state an interest) Broad definition of environmental information Time limit: ‘as soon as possible’, max 1 month, plus 1 more month. Finite set of exemptions, with restrictive interpretation: –public interest to be taken into account –effects of disclosure must be adverse

ACCESS TO INFORMATION (2) Active Transparency and accessibility of information systemsTransparency and accessibility of information systems Public dissemination of international agreements, laws, policies, strategies, programmes and action plans relating to the environmentPublic dissemination of international agreements, laws, policies, strategies, programmes and action plans relating to the environment Sufficient product information to ensure informed environmental choicesSufficient product information to ensure informed environmental choices Pollutant release and transfer registersPollutant release and transfer registers Increased access to information through InternetIncreased access to information through Internet State of environment reports (max 4-year interval)State of environment reports (max 4-year interval)

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Specific Projects or Activities list of types of activity covered (Annex I) timely and effective notification reasonable timeframes free inspection of relevant information by public concerned comments in writing or public hearing due account to be taken of outcome of public participation

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (2) Programmes and Plans “appropriate practical and/or other provisions for the public to participate during the preparation of plans and programmes relating to the environment” reasonable timeframes, early participation due outcome to be taken of the outcome of public participation

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (3) Policies General obligation to endeavour to provide opportunities in the preparation of policies relating to the environment, but only “to the extent appropriate” Rules and regulations Obligation to strive to promote effective public participation in rules/regulations that may have a significant effect on the environment

ACCESS TO JUSTICE Review procedures to challenge the handling of information requests (any person)Review procedures to challenge the handling of information requests (any person) Review procedures to challenge legality of project- level decisions requiring public participation (restricted to concerned public)Review procedures to challenge legality of project- level decisions requiring public participation (restricted to concerned public) Review procedures to challenge general violations of national environmental law (standing may be established by Parties)Review procedures to challenge general violations of national environmental law (standing may be established by Parties)

ACCESS TO JUSTICE (2) Procedures to be fair, equitable, timely and not prohibitively expensive  Decisions in writing, court decisions publicly accessible  Injunctive relief 'as appropriate‘  Mechanisms to remove financial barriers to be considered

STATUS OF RATIFICATION Albania Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Denmark Estonia FYR of Macedonia France Georgia Hungary Italy Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Latvia Lithuania Malta Moldova Norway Poland Romania Tajikistan Turkmenistan Ukraine TOTAL: 24 PARTIES

1st MEETING OF THE PARTIES Lucca, October 2002 Broad participation (ECE states, non-ECE states, IGOs, RECs, NGOs)Broad participation (ECE states, non-ECE states, IGOs, RECs, NGOs) Adoption of the Lucca DeclarationAdoption of the Lucca Declaration Establishment of the compliance mechanismEstablishment of the compliance mechanism Adoption of guidelines on genetically-modified organismsAdoption of guidelines on genetically-modified organisms

1st MEETING OF THE PARTIES (2) Lucca, October st MEETING OF THE PARTIES (2) Lucca, October 2002 Confirmation of commitment to develop protocol on pollutant release and transfer registers (PRTRs)Confirmation of commitment to develop protocol on pollutant release and transfer registers (PRTRs) … PRTR Protocol adopted and signed by 36 states at the Kiev conference, May 2003 New task forces on access to justice and electronic information toolsNew task forces on access to justice and electronic information tools New procedural and institutional framework for the ConventionNew procedural and institutional framework for the Convention

ELECTRONIC INFORMATION TOOLS Article 5, paragraph 3 of the Convention Decision I/6 on the use of electronic tools adopted by the first meeting of the Parties to the ConventionDecision I/6 on the use of electronic tools adopted by the first meeting of the Parties to the Convention Task force meets on June 2003 in Sofia, BulgariaTask force meets on June 2003 in Sofia, Bulgaria Main topics on the agenda:Main topics on the agenda: –Development of an information clearing-house for the Convention; –Advancing the use of information and communication technology to facilitate implementation of the Convention

ELECTRONIC INFORMATION TOOLS (2) AARHUS CONVENTION CLEARING- HOUSE: CENTRAL NODE NATIONAL WEB SITE IGO NGO ACADEMIC NATIONAL NODE

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