scholarly journals Improving legal framework to implement the right to access to justice in environmental matters in Vietnam

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 135-146
Author(s):  
Vi Thy Tuong Phan
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
International Environmental Agreements ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Environmental Agreements ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Basic Rights ◽  
The Right

“The right to access to justice in environmental matters” is one of human’s basic rights as mentioned in important international documents of human’s rights and international environmental agreements. This right, however, still rather new both in theory and in practice in Vietnam. To provide readers with an overview of the right to justice in environmental matters in Vietnam, this paper will present its origin and legal background. An analysis of some practical cases is also included to provide a better understanding about the right. The author also suggests some solutions with an attempt to guarantee the right so that the environmental protection will be carried out more efficiently.

Belarusian Ostrovets nuclear power plant: the challenge of cross-border negotiations to balance economic development and environmental protection†

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-168
Author(s):  
Aslan Khuseinovich Abashidze ◽  
Vladimir Mikhailovich Filippov ◽  
Alexander Mikhailovich Solntsev
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power Plant ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Power Plants ◽  
International Environmental Agreements ◽  
Environmental Agreements ◽  
Energy Agency

Abstract States have sovereign rights that allow them to construct nuclear power plants. Moreover, engaging with nuclear power generation makes possible the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (2016–30) in combatting climate change, paramount to the Paris Agreement’s initiatives. In the same vein, however, constructing and operating power plants pose strict dangers to both general safety of the public and to national security. Thus, plant operations should strictly abide by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) standards and international law. As a result, it is important to consider the potential transboundary impacts of nuclear power plants and to conduct an appropriate transboundary environmental impact assessment (EIA). The article examines the construction of the Ostrovets Nuclear Power Plant by Belarus, close to the border of the Republic of Lithuania. The question in focus, however, is as follows: what international procedure can be used to coordinate issues of potentially negative transboundary impacts? Lithuania, in order to avoid the operation of the nuclear power plant, thus sought peaceful settlement of the dispute making use of the dispute resolution mechanisms based on international environmental agreements. The authors of this study show that the treaty bodies, established on the basis of international environmental agreements, provide important assistance in this matter in coordination with the IAEA. The use of these quasi-judicial means of resolving interstate disputes proves effective in pursuing a compromise between economic development and environmental protection. In the absence of such mechanisms at a universal level, one should consider utilizing such mechanisms in other regions of the world.

Public participation in decisions on specific activities in environmental matters in Croatia

elni Review ◽  
2012 ◽  
pp. 13-19
Author(s):  
Lana Ofak
Keyword(s):  
Public Participation ◽  
Positive Outcome ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Aarhus Convention ◽  
Specific Activities ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Eu

Croatia finished accession negotiations with the EU in June 2011. The Accession Treaty was signed on 9 December 2011. The EU accession referendum in Croatia was held in January 2012 with a positive outcome. 66.27% of Croatian citizens voted in favour of Croatian accession to the European Union and 33.13% of votes were against the accession. Following ratification of the Accession Treaty by the 27 EU member states, accession of Croatia to the EU is expected to take place on 1 July 2013. In the 2011 Progress Report, European Commission stated that there has been progress in the area of environment. Overall, Croatia’s environmentorientated preparations are nearing completion in terms of both alignment and implementation of the relevant legislation. However, implementation of the horizontal acquis, and in particular effective public participation and access to justice in environmental matters, need to be improved. The purpose of this article is twofold. Firstly, it provides a general overview of the legal framework for public participation in decisions on specific activities in Croatia, which is intended to implement provisions of Art. 6 of the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (hereinafter: the Aarhus Convention or Convention). Implementation of Art. 7 and 8 of the Aarhus Convention are not discussed. Secondly, specific problems in exercising the right to participate in environmental impact assessment procedures in Croatia are analysed. It is shown that there are cases of non-compliance with the provisions of Art. 6 of the Aarhus Convention.

In Name or Nature? Implementing International Environmental Procedural Rights in the Post-Aarhus Environment: A Finnish Example

2007 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 190-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Davies
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
The Public ◽  
Hard Law ◽  
The Right ◽  
Procedural Rights ◽  
Right Of Access ◽  
National Environmental

Rights-based approaches to environmental protection are on the increase as the public become more aware of both the environment around them and of their other civil and political rights. Whilst methods for combining environmental protection and rights-based regulation still allude to a large conflict of anthropocentric versus ecocentric interests, one approach increasingly stands out as a potential effective solution: ‘procedural rights’. More commonly, this concerns rights to be heard, rights to information, to participation and the right of access to justice. Such perspectives are increasingly finding purchase within international environmental agendas, indeed, several national jurisdictions have progressed from mere principles into more formal ‘hard law’. In order to follow this progression and to assess the influence of international procedural rights in national jurisdictions, this article looks in particular at the environmental law of Finland as an example, and seeks to illustrate the formation of one facet of internationally accepted procedural rights: that of public participation, within national environmental regulation.

Public Participation

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Ebbesson
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Environmental Agreements ◽  
National Level ◽  
Environmental Agreements ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
The Public ◽  
International Body ◽  
Common Goals

There are increasing efforts at the international level to adopt standards designed to govern public participation in national-level decision making. In addition, a growing number of procedures govern public participation in international decision making, within the framework of international environmental agreements and international institutions. While the two types of procedure are to be distinguished, both are driven by similar motivations and pursue common goals. Moreover, the relevant norms in these two contexts interact and influence each other, giving rise to an international body of law concerning public participation in environmental matters. This article considers that body of law and how it has been applied to decision making in both international and national contexts. It first discusses the contexts in which international law on public participation in environmental matters has developed and is to be understood, both politically and conceptually. The article then explores the rationales for public participation. Subsequently, it analyses existing international norms regarding participation, related to international and national levels of decision making respectively, and addresses how they have given rise to emerging normative patterns. The article examines the increased involvement of non-state actors, legal fragments and normative patterns, non-governmental organisations as representatives of the public, public participation in decision making and access to information, and access to justice.

Part VII Inter-linkages with Other Regimes, Ch.43 Trade

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asselt Harro van
Keyword(s):  
International Trade ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
International Environmental Agreements ◽  
Environmental Agreements ◽  
Trade And Environment ◽  
Trade Restrictions ◽  
Multilateral Environmental Agreements ◽  
Trade Law ◽  
International Trade Law ◽  
Environmental Measures

This chapter reviews the interactions between international trade law and environmental protection. It begins by explaining how trade and environmental protection are physically interlinked, before offering an account of the evolution of the trade and environment debate. The chapter then examines the relationship between multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) and trade, followed by an analysis of questions that have arisen in assessing the compatibility of environmental measures with trade law. International trade law may have a ‘chilling effect’ on the adoption or effective implementation of international environmental agreements. Conversely, environmental policies employing trade restrictions can become ‘green protectionism’ and even ‘eco-imperialism’. The chapter explores two emerging developments of relevance for the trade and environment debate, including the rise of regional trade agreements and the growing importance of climate change-related disputes. It concludes with a critical assessment of the prospects for strengthening coherence between international environmental and trade law.

New Zealand: Country Report on Human Rights

2009 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Natalie Baird ◽  
Susan Glazebrook ◽  
Sasha Holden
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Indigenous Rights ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Country Report ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Right

This article provides a country report on the status of human rights in New Zealand. The article covers New Zealand's adherence to the rule of law, culture and language, education system, health system and environmental rights. The authors draw conclusions from each section: New Zealand's commitment to the rule of law is generally strong, albeit with concerns regarding access to justice. Positive developments were undertaken regarding language but disappointing in its indigenous rights. The right to education is generally secure, but some vulnerabilities remain. New Zealand has a generally favourable health services system. Finally, although New Zealand's legal framework does not recognise the right to an environment of a particular quality, the Resource Management Act 1991 provides a strong participatory framework.  

scholarly journals ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AS FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT GUARANTEED TO THE EUROPEAN LEVEL

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-130
Author(s):  
Alina Gentimir
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
Healthy Environment ◽  
Right To Information ◽  
The Right

The article examines, in a comparative perspective, both legal framework of the European Union and Council of Europe and case law of the Court of Justice of European Union and European Court of Human Rights in order to highlight superior level of the right to a healthy environment European protection. The multitude of concepts related to the environmental protection and their connections require compulsory conceptual delimitations. As other international and regional organizations, the European Union expresses interest in environmental protection, consecrating to it numerous legal instruments, the most relevant of these, in terms of human rights, being the Charter of Fundamental Rights, in which (Article 37) is provided expressly that environmental protection is a fundamental right, unlike the Council of Europe where this right is recognized only as an indirect right. Affiliation of this right to a certain category of rights – global rights, solidarity rights or individual or collective rights – has been a source of both doctrinal and jurisprudential disputes. Genuine interdependence with other fundamental rights such as the right to life, the right to private and family life, right to property and right to information ensues from the substance of the right to protection of the environment. The presentation of the principles which outline the content of the right in discussion emphasizes that the Charter text was drafted in accordance with the latest developments in the field of normative and jurisprudential environment established at international, regional and national levels, respectively, in interaction with the principle of sustainable development. Finally, an analysis of the most frequent modalities of environmental degradation contributes to find proper mechanisms for a better guarantee of the respect of environmental protection as a fundamental right.

scholarly journals New Zealand: Country Report on Human Rights

2009 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Natalie Baird ◽  
Susan Glazebrook ◽  
Sasha Holden
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Indigenous Rights ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Country Report ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Right

This article provides a country report on the status of human rights in New Zealand. The article covers New Zealand's adherence to the rule of law, culture and language, education system, health system and environmental rights. The authors draw conclusions from each section: New Zealand's commitment to the rule of law is generally strong, albeit with concerns regarding access to justice. Positive developments were undertaken regarding language but disappointing in its indigenous rights. The right to education is generally secure, but some vulnerabilities remain. New Zealand has a generally favourable health services system. Finally, although New Zealand's legal framework does not recognise the right to an environment of a particular quality, the Resource Management Act 1991 provides a strong participatory framework.  

scholarly journals International Legal Regulation in the Field of Environmental Protection: History, Currents Situation, Prospects for the Future

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-269
Author(s):  
O. I. Ilinskaya
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Marine Pollution ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
International Environmental Agreements ◽  
Specific Area ◽  
Significant Degree ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Environmental Agreements ◽  
Environmental Standards ◽  
Limited Scale

The international agreements and treaties in the field of environmental protection, concluded in the 19th — first half of the 20thcentury, resulted most commonly from the compromises ofnecessity; they merely intended to deal with urgent matters on a limited scale in the spheres where specific problems emerged or at least were a focus of attention (e.g. some species under the threat of extinction, pollution of a specific area of the marine environment). These cases were reasons for adoption of conventions, aimed at protecting endangered species or preventing marine pollution. Such a fragmented approach to the issues of environmental protection shaped a set of conventions, impressive by its amount, but extremely diverse in its content.The understanding of the ecosystems’ integrity resulted in the development of the principles, enshrined in the 1972 Stockholm Declaration and in the 1992 Rio Declaration, was to a significant degree driven by the spectacular advances in science and technology. As a result, the transition has been under way from the “spontaneous” formation of the international environmental standards to their consolidation around the special principles of international environmental law.Also a notable feature of many international environmental agreements — their “framework” character — is further analyzed. The adoption of the framework agreements gives rise to the complex sets of the convention documents, consisting of several different, but in a certain way interrelated agreements.Treating a question of the effectiveness of such a legal instrument as a framework agreement, the author concludes that the origins of the lack of effectiveness of the environmental agreements lie in the foundations of the existing economic system.

scholarly journals Odpowiedzialność za środowisko w orzecznictwie indyjskim

2020 ◽  
pp. 33-45
Author(s):  
Iwona Florek
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
Clean Environment ◽  
Health Quality ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Right

Environmental protection policy is the domain of every country withservices ratifed in international agreements. India sets its own developmentdirection in this respect. The judiciary also plays an important role in thesystem of common law as a tool for defning the legal framework. India applies environmental principles which follow international environmentalprotection. The purpose of this paper is to present legal provisions in thefeld of environmental protection in the Republic of India and the state anddirection of case law with particular emphasis on the role of man, his health,quality of life and the right to live in a clean environment.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document