ENVIRONMENTAL RULE OF LAW IN LIGHT OF GLOBAL REPORTS ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL RULE OF LAW

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The concept of environmental rule of law is genetically placed in the context of broader rule-of-law principles. Similarly to the general concept of the rule of law, the environmental rule of law focuses on fair, clear and implementable environmental laws; public participation in decision-making; access to justice; access to information; accountability and integrity of institutions and decision-makers; clear and coordinated mandates and roles across and within institutions; accessible, fair and timely dispute resolution mechanisms; recognition of the mutually reinforcing relationship between human rights and environment. All of these elements of the environmental rule of law were in some way assessed in the First Global Report on Environmental Rule of Law (2019), (hereafter as the First Report) and in the second report – Environmental Rule of Law: Tracking Progress and Charting Future Directions (2023), (hereafter as the Second Report), which undoubtedly has contributed to the systemic approach to the environmental rule of law. This paper discusses some systemic issues of the environmental rule of law in the light of these reports findings that give a global prospect on the implementation of the environmental rule of law. It follows from them that the environmental rule of law should be considered as a basis before adopting any document and acting on environmental policy and law provides framework standards for addressing the gap between theory and practice of environmental law. As has been pointed out in the Second Report, the environmental rule of law is lately transforming due to such factors like technical innovation, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the rise of social justice movement inter alia, challenging standards of the environmental rule of law. The article comprises 4 parts. The first concerns the concept and context, the second one presents specific features and core elements of the environmental rule of law, the third – points to the benefits of compliance with the environmental rule of law. Some summarizing conclusions have been included in the fourth part.