25 Years Since the Adoption of the Aarhus Convention

Abstract

According to internationally agreed rules, the public is one of the key actors to be involved in the adoption of environmental legislation. At the same time, by means of their laws, States guarantee citizens access to information of public interest. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters. The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether the content of the Convention is still relevant in the current global context. The topic has relevance in the present times and has practical applicability, being a topic of general interest not only to the public authorities but also to the general public. In order to achieve the proposed objective, the analysis is interdisciplinary, the chosen topic being at the confluence of several disciplines: administrative law, environmental law, and public international law. The structure of the paper is divided into three sections: section I presents the reflection of the Aarhus Convention into the national law, section II analyzes the European framework applicable to the public participation in environmental decision-making, and section III highlights the relevance of the Aarhus Convention in the present times - a case study.