Purpose and issues
The Aarhus Convention aims to “guarantee the rights of access to information, public participation in decision-making, access to justice in environmental matters”.
There are three main issues addressed by the Convention.
First, the Convention recognizes that “every person has the right to live in an environment adequate to his or her health and well-being”. To be able to assert this right, three conditions must be met: citizens must have access to information, be entitled to participate in decision-making and have access to justice.
Second, the three pillars of the Convention seek to strengthen democracy in environmental matters by guaranteeing transparency, improving access to public participation in decision-making, and making effective judicial mechanisms available to the public so that its legitimate interests are protected.
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