Access to Justice inEnvironmental Matters
Some general experiences in theimplementation of the Aarhus Convention inthe European Union

Presentation at International Workshop
on Participation Principle Indicators
under Environmental Law,Osaka, 9 March 2015
Professor Jan Darpö
Faculty of Law/
Uppsala Universitet

Environmental “interests”
Futuregenerations

PublicNGOs

Supervisory
authority

Publicconcerned
Jan Darpö 2015-03-09

CourtsFaculty of Law/UU |www.jur.uu.se / www.jandarpo.seEuropean Convention on
Human Rights (ECHR)
Article 6- (E)veryone is entitled to a fair and public hearing withina reasonable time by an independent and impartial
tribunal established by law…

Article 8- Everyone has the right to respect for his private andfamily life, his home and his correspondence.

Article 13
Everyone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in thisConvention are violated shall have an effective remedy…

Jan Darpö 2015-03-09

Faculty of Law/UU |www.jur.uu.se / www.jandarpo.seECtHR on A2J and theenvironment

Lopez Ostra v. Spain (ECtHR 1994-12-09)

Hatton ao v. United Kingdom(ECtHR 2001-10-02 och ECtHR/GC 2003-07-08)

Fadeyeva v. Ryssland (ECtHR 2005-06-09)*******************



Matti Eurén v. Finland (Art. 6)
ECtHR 2010-01-19; 26654/08

Kuppinger v. Germany (Art. 8 & 13)
ECtHR 2015-01-15; 62198/11

Jan Darpö 2015-03-09

Faculty of Law/UU |www.jur.uu.se / www.jandarpo.seOutlook 2015
 The Aarhus Convention has 47 Parties(almost all countries in Europe, Caucuses andCentral Asia)…
 The PRTR has 33 Parties and the EECCA
countries show the interest in this instrument…
 The GMO Amendment has 28 Parties…
**************
 Three pillars
 Information (Art 4 & 5; active and passive) Public Participation (Art 6-8; EIA procedures) Access to Justice (Art 9; court or tribunal, adequate

and effective, fair, equitable, timely and notprohibitively expensive…
Jan Darpö 2015-03-09

Faculty of Law/UU |www.jur.uu.se / www.jandarpo.seRights and interests…
Article 47 of the EU Charter…
Everyone whose rights and freedoms guaranteedby the law of the Union are violated has the right toan effective remedy before a tribunal in compliance with the conditions laid down in this Article.

Article 19 Treaty of the EU (TEU)
Member States shall provide remedies sufficient toensure effective legal protection in the fields
covered by Union law.
Jan Darpö 2015-03-09

Faculty of Law/UU |www.jur.uu.se / www.jandarpo.se

EU, the MS and CJEUBoth EU and its Member States havesigned the Aarhus Convention…

Infringement cases (Art 258 TFEU)

References from national courts toCJEU for ”preliminary rulings” (Art267 TFEU)

The ”Janus face” of the CJEU…
Jan Darpö 2015-03-09

Faculty of Law/UU |www.jur.uu.se / www.jandarpo.seCJEU about ”rights”
Case 262/62 Van Gend en Loos (1963)***********



C-435/97 WWF (1999)

C-244/05 Bund Naturschutz (2006)

Jan Darpö 2015-03-09

Faculty of Law/UU |www.jur.uu.se / www.jandarpo.se

C-432/05 Unibet (2007)
In that regard, the detailed procedural rules
governing actions for safeguarding an
individual’s rights under Community law must
be no less favourable than those governingsimilar domestic actions (principle ofequivalence) and must not render practically
impossible or excessively difficult theexercise of rights conferred by Community
law (principle of effectiveness)…
C-432/05 Unibet [2007], para. 43
Jan Darpö 2015-03-09

Faculty of Law/UU |www.jur.uu.se / www.jandarpo.seC-240/09 Slovak Brown Bear (2011)
It is, however, for the referring court to interpret, tothe fullest extent possible, the procedural rules
relating to the conditions to be met in order to bringadministrative or judicial proceedings in accordancewith the objectives of Article 9(3) of thatconvention and the objective of effective judicial
protection of the rights conferred by EU law, inorder to enable an ENGO, such as the LZ, tochallenge before a court a decision taken
following administrative proceedings liable to becontrary to EU environmental law.
C-240/09 Trianel [2011], para. 50
Jan Darpö 2015-03-09

Faculty of Law/UU |www.jur.uu.se / www.jandarpo.seC-115/09 Trianel (2011)
It follows more generally that the last sentence ofthe third paragraph of Article 10a of Directive
85/337 must be read as meaning that the ‘rights
capable of being impaired’ which the ENGO aresupposed to enjoy must necessarily include therules of national law implementing EU
environment law and the rules of EU
environment law having direct effect.
C-115/09 Trianel [2011], para. 48

Jan Darpö 2015-03-09

Faculty of Law/UU |www.jur.uu.se / www.jandarpo.seAG Kokott in Trianel“However, like a Ferrari with its doors
locked shut, an intensive system ofreview is of little practical help if thesystem itself is totally inaccessible forcertain categories of action.”
C-115/09 Trianel [2011], AGs opinion para. 77

Jan Darpö 2015-03-09Faculty of Law/UU |www.jur.uu.se / www.jandarpo.seDifferent procedural system
Admcourt

Generalcourt

Adm appealbody/tribunal

Authority/Permit body
Jan Darpö 2015-03-09

Faculty of Law/UU |www.jur.uu.se / www.jandarpo.seSystematic Issues…
Trustworthy authorities or courts as the defenders ofthe environment..?
Administrative Appeal and/or Judicial Review Direct Action in Court..?
Criminal cases..?

What kind of court, tribunals – what kind ofprocedure..?
The environmental expertise; witness experts, expert
judges, ex officio principle…
The outcome; cassatory or reformatory…
Jan Darpö 2015-03-09

Faculty of Law/UU |www.jur.uu.se / www.jandarpo.seKey issues on A2J
Standing for individuals, groups andENGOs…

Effectiveness; duration, suspensive effect,injunction (many cases “won in court, butlost on the ground”)…

Court fees, costs for lawyers, cost forexperts (LPP), bonds, legal aid…

Jan Darpö 2015-03-09

Faculty of Law/UU |www.jur.uu.se / www.jandarpo.seUnderstanding the ACDecisions from the AACC:
C/2004/01; Kazakhstan, C/2004/03; Ukraine,
C/2005/11; C/2006/18; Denmark, C/2008/33; UK
http://www.unece.org/env/pp/cc.html

Case law from CJEU:
C-237/07 Janecek, C-75/08 Mellor, C-263/09 DLV,C-115/09 Trianel, C-240/09 VLK, C-260/11 EdwardsNational case law:
http://www.unece.org/env/pp/tfaj/jurisprudenceplatform.html

Studies:
http://www.unece.org/env/pp/tfaj/analytical_studies.html
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/aarhus/access_studies.htm

Jan Darpö 2015-03-09

Faculty of Law/UU |www.jur.uu.se / www.jandarpo.se