Task Force on Access to Justice
The 3rd meeting of the Task Force took place on 14-15 October 2009 in Geneva (Switzerland).
Background
The first meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention
(Lucca, Italy 21-23 October 2002) decided to establish a task force on access
to justice to support the implementation of the third pillar of the Convention by inter alia,
examining good practices, sharing experience with implementation of particular paragraphs of article
9 of the Convention and assessing the impact of certain barriers in access to justice such as costs
and delay.
At their 2nd meeting (Almaty, Kazakhstan, 25-27 May 2005) the Parties adopted
decision II/2 on promoting effective access to justice (
ENG,
FRE, RUS) and established a Task Force to carry out further work with practical focus in relation to the elements
of that decision. More detailed information on the mandate and activities of the Task Force in the period of 2005-2008 can be found in archives.
The mandate of the Task Force was extended in time by the Parties through decision III/3 on promoting effective access to justice ( ENG, FRE, RUS), adopted at their 3rd meeting (Riga, Latvia, 11-13 June 2008)
The Task Force on Access to Justice is expected to:
(a) Continue to provide a platform for sharing of information, experiences and good practices related to access to justice (though e.g. collection and dissemination of relevant practices and establishment of portal for the relevant jurisprudence);
(b) Continue to plan and implement strategic and catalytic capacity-building activities and information exchange, in particular for senior members of the judiciary at the subregional level;
(c) Consider means of facilitating training of trainers on access to justice in environmental matters;
(d) Develop training materials on implementation of article 9 of the Convention that are adaptable to national priorities and the needs of specific groups of legal professionals
(e) Examine the way the issue of remedies is handled in a selection of representative countries;
(f) Continue the exchange of information and analytical work oncriteria for standing;
(g) Continue the exchange of information on practices in establishment of assistance mechanisms to remove or reduce financial barriers;
(h) Consider practical arrangements for increasing support for public interest lawyers and strengthening the capacities of non-governmental organizations;
(i) Identify good practice with respect to ensuring that sufficient scientific and technical expertise is available to review bodies dealing with environmental cases;
(j) Continue exploring the potential use ofalternative dispute resolution mechanisms as a means to further the objectives of the Convention;
(k) Encourage the involvement of representatives of ministries of justice, the judiciary, other legal professionals, including public interest lawyers and non-governmental organizations specializing in litigation and legal advice on environmental matters, in its activities;
(l) Carry out such other tasks related to access to justice as the Working Group of the Parties may assign to the Task Force;
(m) Present the results of its work for consideration and appropriate action by the Working Group of the Parties
Meetings
The first meeting of the Task Force was held on 16-17 February 2006 and the second meeting on 10-12 September 2007 in Geneva. Information about the meetings and links to relevant documents are available from the archives.
The 3rd meeting of the Task Force took place on 14-15 October 2009 in Geneva (Switzerland).
| Meeting materials |
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|
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| Report |
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ENG |
|
| Programme |
 |
ENG |
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| Provisional agenda |
|
ENG |
|
Platform for sharing information, experiences and good practices
Through paragraph 16 (a) (ii) of decision III/3, the Meeting of the Parties requested the Task Force on Access to Justice to provide a platform for sharing information, experiences and good practices related to access to justice by developing a portal for the exchange of jurisprudence concerning the Aarhus Convention for use by judges, legal professionals, academics and other stakeholders. This information will then be accessible through the Aarhus Clearinghouse for Environmental Democracy.
Parties to the Convention and other stakeholders are now invited to submit the following information:
(a) a list with the national courts and other bodies, the decisions of which have precedence in the legal system;
(b) information about cases that make reference to the Aarhus Convention and its principles: case summaries (in English) of judgments and decisions from the courts and other bodies identified under (b), concerning “Aarhus issues” (i.e. either by reference to the Aarhus Convention itself, or to domestic legislation implementing the Convention or dealing with the principles of the Convention). Also, cases involving a country from relevant judicial bodies at the regional level, such as the European Court of Justice (EU) and the European Court of Human Rights.
A template and two examples have been prepared to facilitate submission of relevant cases.
Capacity Building and Workshops
Mandate
Having in mind the practical focus of its mandate, the Task Force at its first meeting, proposed that capacity-building activities initially be aimed at supporting the judiciary, if possible at all levels, particularly in countries with economies in transition. It agreed on certain criteria for the workshop design and initiated a consultation process on the concept for capacity-building activities which was carried out between July and November 2007.
The first subregional workshop for senior members of the judiciary took place on 4-5 June 2007 in the capital of Ukraine, Kiev. The workshop brought together senior judges from the six countries of the subregion, as well as several members of the EU Forum of Judges for the Environment (EUFJE) and international environmental law experts. Further information about the workshop is available from the archives.
Workshop for high-level judiciary for the South-East European Region - Tirana, Albania, 17-18 November 2008
The second subregional workshop for senior members of the judiciary took place on 17-18 November 2008 in the capital of Albania, Tirana. The workshop brought together senior judges from the subregion, as well as several senior judges from the EU countries and international environmental law experts. It followed the general model of the earlier Kiev workshop.
The workshop, organized in cooperation with Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), was financially supported by contributions from the Government of France, the OSCE fund and the trust fund of the Aarhus Convention.
| Workshop materials |
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| Agenda of the workshop |
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ENG |
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| Report of the workshop for high-level judiciary on access to justice in SEE |
|
upcoming |
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| Recommendations by the participants of the workshop |
|
upcoming |
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| List of participants |
|
ENG |
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| Case studies |
|
ENG |
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| Role of the Judiciary in the implementation and enforcement of international environmental law, Presentation by Prof. Luc Lavrysen, Judge, Constitutional Court of Belgium, President, European Union Forum of Judges for the Environment (EUFJE) |
|
ENG |
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| Introduction to the Aarhus Convention: its development and role in the context of international environmental law, Jeremy Wates, Secretary to the Convention, UNECE |
 |
ENG |
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| Aarhus Convention Compliance Review Mechanism and article 9 of the Convention, Presentation by Prof. Jerzy Jendroska, University of Opole |
|
ENG |
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| Article 9 of the Aarhus Convention: Overview, Presentation by Prof. Jerzy Jendroska, University of Opole |
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ENG |
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| Article 9, paragraph 1, of the Aarhus Convention, Presentation by Dr. Stephen Stec, CEU |
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ENG |
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| Article 9, para. 1, of the Aarhus Convention: some current issues under French Law, , Ms. Frédérique Agostini, Cour de Cassation, France |
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ENG |
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| Article 9, paras 1 and 3 of the Aarhus Convention: current issues under French Law, Ms. Frédérique Agostini, Cour de Cassation, France |
|
ENG |
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| Article 9, paragraph 2, of the Aarhus Convention: legal requirements , Presentation by Prof. Jerzy Jendroska, University of Opole |
|
ENG |
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| Aarhus-related cases of the Belgian Constitutional Court, Presentation by Prof. Luc Lavrysen, Judge, Constitutional Court of Belgium |
|
ENG |
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| Relevant Belgian cases |
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ENG (Case 1)
ENG (Case 2) |
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| Article 9, paragraph 3, of the Aarhus Convention, Presentation by Dr. Stephen Stec, CEU |
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ENG |
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| Article 9, para. 3, of the Aarhus Convention: some current issues under French Law, , Ms. Frédérique Agostini, Cour de Cassation, France |
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ENG |
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| Implementation of the Access to Justice pillar of the Aarhus Convention in SEE, Mr. Mihalaq Qirijo, Regional Environmental Center |
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ENG |
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| Environmental NGOs in SEE: Survey, Findings, Analysis and Recommendations, Mr. Mihalaq Qirijo, Regional Environmental Center |
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ENG |
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| Justice through environmental courts: lessons learnt from the Swedish experience, Prof. Jan Darpö, University of Uppsala |
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ENG |
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In the table above, links to documents appear using the following abbreviations and icons:
File formats: = PDF file; = MS Word DOC file; = MS PowerPoint PPT file;
Languages: ENG – English; FRE – French; RUS – Russian
Documents available for downloading are indicated in blue typeface: ENG FRE RUS.