Access to Justice in Environmental Matters Beyond the Aarhus Regulation: Towards an Alternative Adjudicatory Model at the EU Level
L’accesso alla giustizia in materia ambientale oltre il regolamento Aarhus: verso un modello di rimedio alternativo a livello sovranazionale
Accès à la justice en matière environnementale au-delà du règlement Aarhus : vers un modèle de recours alternatif au niveau UE
The European Union is a contracting party to the Aarhus Convention, which guarantees access to justice in environmental matters. However, the Treaties present significant barriers to the legal standing of NGOs and other members of the public before the Court of Justice. To comply with the Convention, the EU adopted Regulation (EC) n. 1367/2006 (the ‘Aarhus Regulation’). The latter allows NGOs and other members of the public to request an internal review of EU administrative acts or omissions for violations of environmental law. Still, the limited scope of judicial scrutiny of decisions on the review fails to effectively constrain administrative discretion. While judicial review of those decisions has sparked considerable academic debate, this article shifts the focus to a broader critique of the internal review model itself. Drawing inspiration from the law and practice of EU agencies’ Boards of Appeal, the paper argues for a reform of the Aarhus Regulation replacing internal review with scrutiny by independent administrative panels. This alternative would ensure that the limited scope of judicial scrutiny under Regulation (EC) n. 1367/2006 is complemented by an in-depth review previously carried out by an independent panel of experts. The article concludes by demonstrating the legal feasibility of such a reform within the current EU primary law framework.
