THE AARHUS CONVENTION

The Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters was agreed by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in 1998. It provides certain rights for the public and imposes obligations to authorities regarding access to information and justice as well as to decision-making structures through public participation.

The Aarhus Convention is the first international treaty which sets down "the right of every person of present and future generations to live in an environment adequate to his or her health and well-being" - however only in reference to the procedural rights the convention covers. It acknowledges that the obligation to present and future generations can be achieved only through the involvement of all stakeholders. It is advocating a new understanding for public involvement in the negotiation processes of international agreements. The three main pillars of the convention are:

Access to information: The convention provides the right for every person to environmental information on request and without needing to give a reason. Public authorities must actively collect and disseminate environmental information.

Public participation: The convention lays down detailed rules for public participation procedures, including when and which information should be made available to the public. Its list where public participation in decision-making is obligatory includes activities in the fields of energy, metals, minerals and chemical industries, waste management, major wastewater treatment plants etc.

Access to justice: The convention foresees increased public access to the courts in relation to environmental decisions, including the right to appeal to higher authorities and independent courts.

The convention lacks international enforcement bodies or compliance mechanisms but provides only that the parties "shall establish, on a consensus basis, optional arrangements of a non-confrontational, non-judicial and consultative nature for reviewing compliance". Critics interpret the convention as having the weakest compliance section of all international agreements to date.

Since the adoption of the Convention, two meetings of Signatories have been held, five tasks forces and working groups have been established to discuss a variety of issues covering compliance, pollutant release and transfer registers, genetically modified organisms, electronic information tools and access to justice.

Forty countries have signed the convention, about 17 have ratified it. The Convention is planned to enter into force in October 2001. The EU would like to see the Aarhus Convention a global convention, taking e.g. also the US on board. About 95% of the convention complies with US law, but because of the remaining 5% US is unlikely to go along.