Citizens rights and administrations' duties in environmental matters: 20 years of the Aarhus Convention

Abstract

The article uses the 20th anniversary of the Aarhus Conventionon25 June 2018 to retrace the development of the Convention during these twenty years. For the three pillars of the Convention - access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters- it describes and assesses the main impacts which the Convention had on the situation of the European Contracting Parties, and points to the weaknesses of its practical application. Overall, it strikes a positive balance of the effects of the Convention, though it clarifies that significant improvements still remain necessary.