The Right of Access to Environmental Information and Legal Transplant Theory: Lessons from London and Beijing

Whittaker, Sean

doi:10.1017/s2047102517000115

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…73 This view is supported by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in relation to Africa, 74 and there are even debates about whether China should ratify the Aarhus Convention. 75 It is therefore not surprising that the Escazú Agreement drew ideas from the Aarhus Convention. 76 The potential of the Aarhus Convention to provide an example of 'good practice' is further substantiated by the fact that the Convention's provisions have influenced judicial decisions involving non-parties to the Convention.…”

Section:  : ú      mentioning

confidence: 99%

Public Voices and Environmental Decisions: The Escazú Agreement in Comparative Perspective

Etemire

2023

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Since the Escazú Agreement entered into force in 2021, many have looked forward to the realization of its goal of further entrenching environmental democratic rights and enabling sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region. The severe environmental and related human rights challenges in the region have caught global attention, and the Agreement is most timely in its pursuit of contributing to addressing the situation. This article assesses the quality of, and the extent to which, the right of the public to participate in environmental decision-making processes under the Escazú Agreement can enable the regime to achieve its goal, and how best this right might be strengthened where necessary. This assessment is executed within the context of local peculiarities of the LAC region and good practice in the field, as reflected in the Aarhus Convention and the UNEP Bali Guidelines. The study finds that while aspects of the participatory right regime in the Escazú Agreement are sound – and align with or go beyond existing good practice – some key provisions require improvement in order to increase the effectiveness of the Agreement.

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Section:  : ú      mentioning

confidence: 99%

Public Voices and Environmental Decisions: The Escazú Agreement in Comparative Perspective

Etemire

2023

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“…44 Public participation is a normative and substantive necessity in a democracy 45 but is often not fully implemented in line with the legislative intention that seeks real public engagement and influence on the decision-making process in environmental matters. As the Convention is open for global accession and thus must accommodate diverse political and legal cultures, 46 it leaves space and discretion to increase its impact and attract more signatories. However, discretion and flexibility carry 'the potential to sabotage effective public participation' 47 and come at a cost to impact.…”

Section: The Aarhus Convention and Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

Coming to terms with public participation in decision making: Balancing clarity and impact in the Aarhus Convention

Zhao

Butcher

2022

Rev Euro Comp Intl Enviro

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Public participation in decision making plays an essential role in achieving sustainable development goals. The 1998 Aarhus Convention, a benchmark in this field, fosters this role and, in its Article 6, sets out procedures and standards for implementing public participation in decision making on specific activities. Given the widespread adoption and recognition of the Aarhus Convention, it is important to clarify these standards to guide the design of public participation regulation and its implementation and practice. To that end, this article identifies and analyses the major interpretative issues that arise from the terminology adopted in Article 6 and examines the balance between clarity in the terminology and the impact of the provision. The article also suggests a series of best practice principles for better implementing the Aarhus Convention and achieving effective public participation.

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“…Whittaker focuses on the ways in which the right to environmental information, as safeguarded by the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention), 45 has been incorporated into English and Chinese law. 46 Zhao and Percival look more broadly at how different models of federalism have affected the implementation and enforcement of environmental law in the US and China. 47 Each analysis relies on the assumption that the respective legal systems can learn from each other and perhaps even use legal tools developed in one system to remedy flaws in the environmental law regime of the other.…”

Section: Comparing Environmental Laws: Federalism and Access To Informentioning

confidence: 99%

“…46 Zhao and Percival look more broadly at how different models of federalism have affected the implementation and enforcement of environmental law in the US and China. 47 Each analysis relies on the assumption that the respective legal systems can learn from each other and perhaps even use legal tools developed in one system to remedy flaws in the environmental law regime of the other.…”

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confidence: 99%

Expanding the Scope of Transnational Environmental Law

Etty¹,

Heyvaert²,

Carlarne³

et al. 2017

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Transnational Environmental Law provides a platform for scholarly debate on environmental law and governance beyond the state, with a focus on the contributions of non-state actors to the development of law and regulation. The contributions in this issue build on these themes by expanding the scope of transnational environmental law in two ways. The first four articles shift the focus towards entities that are, or arguably should be, even more central to the development of transnational environmental law and governance than non-state actors, yet they face formidable barriers to recognition: the entities that constitute the 'environment' itself. The second set of articles considers more traditional actors of environmental regulationthe United Kingdom (UK), the United States (US), and Chinabut explores new ways in which they may be able to interact and learn from each other in the area of environmental law and governance. While very different in focus and approach, both sets of contributions highlight the unique challenges and opportunities of transnational environmental law and scholarship. Most modern legal systems have developed out of a need to structure the relationships between governments and their people, and between people inter se. The ideal of a society governed by the rule of law tends to be juxtaposed to Hobbes' 'state of nature', where the lack of a social contract between individuals results in the absence of rights and duties and the dominance of 'freedoms'. 1 However, neither the societal models shaped by legal rules nor, ironically, the state of nature have meaningfully incorporated the relationship between humans and their environment. Instead, environmental law focuses on the impact of human behaviour upon the environment. Most jurisdictions preclude the possibility of the environment speaking on its own behalf or making claims based on its own interests. 2 However, as demonstrated by the first four articles in this volume, important changes may be afoot regarding the legal agency of 'the environment', implicating a shift that might move the humanenvironment relationship closer to other legal relationships. The first two articlesby Louis Kotzé and Paola Villavicencio Calzadilla, and Roderic O'Gormandiscuss the rise of environmental constitutionalism and the relation between a constitutional 1

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The Right of Access to Environmental Information and Legal Transplant Theory: Lessons from London and Beijing

Abstract: Access to the full text of the published version may require a subscription. Rights

Cited by 5 publications

References 17 publications

Public Voices and Environmental Decisions: The Escazú Agreement in Comparative Perspective

Public Voices and Environmental Decisions: The Escazú Agreement in Comparative Perspective

Coming to terms with public participation in decision making: Balancing clarity and impact in the Aarhus Convention

Expanding the Scope of Transnational Environmental Law

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