Transnational Environmental Law

Table of Contents - April 2012 - Volume 1, Issue 01  

Invited Article

Transnational Access to Environmental Information

Ludwig Krämera1

a1 University College London (United Kingdom); Derecho y Medio Ambiente, Madrid (Spain); EU Aarhus Centre of ClientEarth, Brussels (Belgium). Email: kramer.ludwig@skynet.be.

Abstract

This paper traces back the efforts, in particular in Europe, to promote transnational legal provisions which grant a right of access to environmental information. Initiatives in the 1970s failed to establish a fundamental right to a clean environment. However, the establishment of fundamental procedural rights of access to information, participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters has been more successful – culminating in the 1998 Aarhus Convention. This paper describes the – until now unsuccessful – attempts to extend the territorial scope of application of the Aarhus Convention to non-European countries and regions, and ultimately the conclusion of a global convention on access to environmental information.

(Online publication March 13 2012)

Keywords

  • Aarhus Convention;
  • Fundamental Right of Access to Information;
  • Global Convention