CONVENTION ON ACCESS TO INFORMATION, PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN DECISION-MAKING AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE IN ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS

The Parties to this Convention,
Recalling principle l of the Stockholm Declaration on the Human
Environment,
Recalling also principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and
Development,
Recalling further General Assembly resolutions 37/7 of 28 October
1982 on the World Charter for Nature and 45/94 of 14 December 1990 on the
need to ensure a healthy environment for the well-being of individuals,
Recalling the European Charter on Environment and Health adopted at
the First European Conference on Environment and Health of the World Health
Organization in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, on 8 December 1989,
Affirming the need to protect, preserve and improve the state of the
environment and to ensure sustainable and environmentally sound development,
Recognizing that adequate protection of the environment is essential to
human well-being and the enjoyment of basic human rights, including the right
to life itself,
Recognizing also that every person has the right to live in an
environment adequate to his or her health and well-being, and the duty, both
individually and in association with others, to protect and improve the
environment for the benefit of present and future generations,
Considering that, to be able to assert this right and observe this duty,
citizens must have access to information, be entitled to participate in
decision-making and have access to justice in environmental matters, and
acknowledging in this regard that citizens may need assistance in order to
exercise their rights,
Recognizing that, in the field of the environment, improved access to
information and public participation in decision-making enhance the quality
and the implementation of decisions, contribute to public awareness of
environmental issues, give the public the opportunity to express its concerns
and enable public authorities to take due account of such concerns,
Aiming thereby to further the accountability of and transparency in
decision-making and to strengthen public support for decisions on the
environment,
Recognizing the desirability of transparency in all branches of
government and inviting legislative bodies to implement the principles of this
Convention in their proceedings,
Recognizing also that the public needs to be aware of the procedures for
participation in environmental decision-making, have free access to them and
know how to use them,
Recognizing further the importance of the respective roles that
individual citizens, non-governmental organizations and the private sector can
play in environmental protection,
Desiring to promote environmental education to further the understanding
of the environment and sustainable development and to encourage widespread
public awareness of, and participation in, decisions affecting the environment
and sustainable development,
Noting, in this context, the importance of making use of the media and
of electronic or other, future forms of communication,
Recognizing the importance of fully integrating environmental
considerations in governmental decision-making and the consequent need for
public authorities to be in possession of accurate, comprehensive and up-todate
environmental information,
Acknowledging that public authorities hold environmental information in
the public interest,
Concerned that effective judicial mechanisms should be accessible to the
public, including organizations, so that its legitimate interests are
protected and the law is enforced,
Noting the importance of adequate product information being provided to
consumers to enable them to make informed environmental choices,
Recognizing the concern of the public about the deliberate release of
genetically modified organisms into the environment and the need for increased
transparency and greater public participation in decision-making in this
field,
Convinced that the implementation of this Convention will contribute to
strengthening democracy in the region of the United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe (ECE),
Conscious of the role played in this respect by ECE and recalling, inter
alia, the ECE Guidelines on Access to Environmental Information and Public
Participation in Environmental Decision-making endorsed in the Ministerial
Declaration adopted at the Third Ministerial Conference "Environment for
Europe" in Sofia, Bulgaria, on 25 October 1995,
Bearing in mind the relevant provisions in the Convention on
Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context, done at Espoo,
Finland, on 25 February 1991, and the Convention on the Transboundary Effects
of Industrial Accidents and the Convention on the Protection and Use of
Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, both done at Helsinki on
17 March 1992, and other regional conventions,
Conscious that the adoption of this Convention will have contributed to
the further strengthening of the "Environment for Europe" process and to the
results of the Fourth Ministerial Conference in Aarhus, Denmark, in June 1998,
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
OBJECTIVE
In order to contribute to the protection of the right of every person of
present and future generations to live in an environment adequate to his or
her health and well-being, each Party shall guarantee the rights of access to
information, public participation in decision-making, and access to justice
in environmental matters in accordance with the provisions of this Convention.
Article 2
DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this Convention,
1. “Party” means, unless the text otherwise indicates, a Contracting Party
to this Convention;
2. “Public authority” means:
(a) Government at national, regional and other level;
(b) Natural or legal persons performing public administrative
functions under national law, including specific duties, activities or
services in relation to the environment;
(c) Any other natural or legal persons having public responsibilities
or functions, or providing public services, in relation to the environment,
under the control of a body or person falling within subparagraphs (a) or (b)
above;
(d) The institutions of any regional economic integration
organization referred to in article 17 which is a Party to this
Convention.
This definition does not include bodies or institutions acting in a
judicial or legislative capacity;
3. “Environmental information” means any information in written, visual,
aural, electronic or any other material form on:
(a) The state of elements of the environment, such as air and
atmosphere, water, soil, land, landscape and natural sites, biological
diversity and its components, including genetically modified organisms, and
the interaction among these elements;
(b) Factors, such as substances, energy, noise and radiation, and
activities or measures, including administrative measures, environmental
agreements, policies, legislation, plans and programmes, affecting or likely
to affect the elements of the environment within the scope of subparagraph (a)
above, and cost-benefit and other economic analyses and assumptions used in
environmental decision-making;
(c) The state of human health and safety, conditions of human life,
cultural sites and built structures, inasmuch as they are or may be affected
by the state of the elements of the environment or, through these elements, by
the factors, activities or measures referred to in subparagraph (b) above;
4. “The public” means one or more natural or legal persons, and, in
accordance with national legislation or practice, their associations,
organizations or groups;
5. “The public concerned” means the public affected or likely to be
affected by, or having an interest in, the environmental decision-making; for
the purposes of this definition, non-governmental organizations promoting
environmental protection and meeting any requirements under national law shall
be deemed to have an interest.
Article 3
GENERAL PROVISIONS
1. Each Party shall take the necessary legislative, regulatory and other
measures, including measures to achieve compatibility between the provisions
implementing the information, public participation and access-to-justice
provisions in this Convention, as well as proper enforcement measures, to
establish and maintain a clear, transparent and consistent framework to
implement the provisions of this Convention.
2. Each Party shall endeavour to ensure that officials and authorities
assist and provide guidance to the public in seeking access to information, in
facilitating participation in decision-making and in seeking access to justice
in environmental matters.
3. Each Party shall promote environmental education and environmental
awareness among the public, especially on how to obtain access to information,
to participate in decision-making and to obtain access to justice in
environmental matters.
4. Each Party shall provide for appropriate recognition of and support to
associations, organizations or groups promoting environmental protection and
ensure that its national legal system is consistent with this obligation.
5. The provisions of this Convention shall not affect the right of a Party
to maintain or introduce measures providing for broader access to information,
more extensive public participation in decision-making and wider access to
justice in environmental matters than required by this Convention.
6. This Convention shall not require any derogation from existing rights of
access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to
justice in environmental matters.
7. Each Party shall promote the application of the principles of this
Convention in international environmental decision-making processes and within
the framework of international organizations in matters relating to the
environment.
8. Each Party shall ensure that persons exercising their rights in
conformity with the provisions of this Convention shall not be penalized,
persecuted or harassed in any way for their involvement. This provision shall
not affect the powers of national courts to award reasonable costs in judicial
proceedings.
9. Within the scope of the relevant provisions of this Convention, the
public shall have access to information, have the possibility to participate
in decision-making and have access to justice in environmental matters without
discrimination as to citizenship, nationality or domicile and, in the case of
a legal person, without discrimination as to where it has its registered seat
or an effective centre of its activities.
Article 4
ACCESS TO ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION
1. Each Party shall ensure that, subject to the following paragraphs of
this article, public authorities, in response to a request for environmental
information, make such information available to the public, within the
framework of national legislation, including, where requested and subject to
subparagraph (b) below, copies of the actual documentation containing or
comprising such information:
(a) Without an interest having to be stated;
(b) In the form requested unless:
(i) It is reasonable for the public authority to make it
available in another form, in which case reasons shall be
given for making it available in that form; or
(ii) The information is already publicly available in another
form.
2. The environmental information referred to in paragraph 1 above shall be
made available as soon as possible and at the latest within one month after
the request has been submitted, unless the volume and the complexity of the
information justify an extension of this period up to two months after the
request. The applicant shall be informed of any extension and of the reasons
justifying it.
3. A request for environmental information may be refused if:
(a) The public authority to which the request is addressed does not
hold the environmental information requested;
(b) The request is manifestly unreasonable or formulated in too
general a manner; or
(c) The request concerns material in the course of completion or
concerns internal communications of public authorities where such an exemption
is provided for in national law or customary practice, taking into account the
public interest served by disclosure.
4. A request for environmental information may be refused if the disclosure
would adversely affect:
(a) The confidentiality of the proceedings of public authorities,
where such confidentiality is provided for under national law;
(b) International relations, national defence or public security;
(c) The course of justice, the ability of a person to receive a fair
trial or the ability of a public authority to conduct an enquiry of a criminal
or disciplinary nature;
(d) The confidentiality of commercial and industrial information,
where such confidentiality is protected by law in order to protect a
legitimate economic interest. Within this framework, information on emissions
which is relevant for the protection of the environment shall be disclosed;
(e) Intellectual property rights;
(f) The confidentiality of personal data and/or files relating to a
natural person where that person has not consented to the disclosure of the
information to the public, where such confidentiality is provided for in
national law;
(g) The interests of a third party which has supplied the information
requested without that party being under or capable of being put under a legal
obligation to do so, and where that party does not consent to the release of
the material; or
(h) The environment to which the information relates, such as the
breeding sites of rare species.
The aforementioned grounds for refusal shall be interpreted in a restrictive
way, taking into account the public interest served by disclosure and taking
into account whether the information requested relates to emissions into the
environment.
5. Where a public authority does not hold the environmental information
requested, this public authority shall, as promptly as possible, inform the
applicant of the public authority to which it believes it is possible to apply
for the information requested or transfer the request to that authority and
inform the applicant accordingly.
6. Each Party shall ensure that, if information exempted from disclosure
under paragraphs 3 (c) and 4 above can be separated out without prejudice to
the confidentiality of the information exempted, public authorities make
available the remainder of the environmental information that has been
requested.
7. A refusal of a request shall be in writing if the request was in writing
or the applicant so requests. A refusal shall state the reasons for the
refusal and give information on access to the review procedure provided for in
accordance with article 9. The refusal shall be made as soon as possible and
at the latest within one month, unless the complexity of the information
justifies an extension of this period up to two months after the request. The
applicant shall be informed of any extension and of the reasons justifying it.
8. Each Party may allow its public authorities to make a charge for
supplying information, but such charge shall not exceed a reasonable amount.
Public authorities intending to make such a charge for supplying information
shall make available to applicants a schedule of charges which may be levied,
indicating the circumstances in which they may be levied or waived and when
the supply of information is conditional on the advance payment of such a
charge.
Article 5
COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION
1. Each Party shall ensure that:
(a) Public authorities possess and update environmental information
which is relevant to their functions;
(b) Mandatory systems are established so that there is an adequate
flow of information to public authorities about proposed and existing
activities which may significantly affect the environment;
(c) In the event of any imminent threat to human health or the
environment, whether caused by human activities or due to natural causes, all
information which could enable the public to take measures to prevent or
mitigate harm arising from the threat and is held by a public authority is
disseminated immediately and without delay to members of the public who may be
affected.
2. Each Party shall ensure that, within the framework of national
legislation, the way in which public authorities make environmental
information available to the public is transparent and that environmental
information is effectively accessible, inter alia, by:
(a) Providing sufficient information to the public about the type and
scope of environmental information held by the relevant public authorities,
the basic terms and conditions under which such information is made available
and accessible, and the process by which it can be obtained;
(b) Establishing and maintaining practical arrangements, such as:
(i) Publicly accessible lists, registers or files;
(ii) Requiring officials to support the public in seeking
access to information under this Convention; and
(iii) The identification of points of contact; and
(c) Providing access to the environmental information contained in
lists, registers or files as referred to in subparagraph (b) (i) above free of
charge.
3. Each Party shall ensure that environmental information progressively
becomes available in electronic databases which are easily accessible to the
public through public telecommunications networks. Information accessible in
this form should include:
(a) Reports on the state of the environment, as referred to in
paragraph 4 below;
(b) Texts of legislation on or relating to the environment;
(c) As appropriate, policies, plans and programmes on or relating to
the environment, and environmental agreements; and
(d) Other information, to the extent that the availability of such
information in this form would facilitate the application of national law
implementing this Convention,
provided that such information is already available in electronic form.
4. Each Party shall, at regular intervals not exceeding three or four
years, publish and disseminate a national report on the state of the
environment, including information on the quality of the environment and
information on pressures on the environment.
5. Each Party shall take measures within the framework of its legislation
for the purpose of disseminating, inter alia:
(a) Legislation and policy documents such as documents on strategies,
policies, programmes and action plans relating to the environment, and
progress reports on their implementation, prepared at various levels of
government;
(b) International treaties, conventions and agreements on
environmental issues; and
(c) Other significant international documents on environmental issues,
as appropriate.
6. Each Party shall encourage operators whose activities have a significant
impact on the environment to inform the public regularly of the environmental
impact of their activities and products, where appropriate within the
framework of voluntary eco-labelling or eco-auditing schemes or by other
means.
7. Each Party shall:
(a) Publish the facts and analyses of facts which it considers
relevant and important in framing major environmental policy proposals;
(b) Publish, or otherwise make accessible, available explanatory
material on its dealings with the public in matters falling within the scope
of this Convention; and
(c) Provide in an appropriate form information on the performance of
public functions or the provision of public services relating to the
environment by government at all levels.
8. Each Party shall develop mechanisms with a view to ensuring that
sufficient product information is made available to the public in a manner
which enables consumers to make informed environmental choices.
9. Each Party shall take steps to establish progressively, taking into
account international processes where appropriate, a coherent, nationwide
system of pollution inventories or registers on a structured, computerized and
publicly accessible database compiled through standardized reporting. Such a
system may include inputs, releases and transfers of a specified range of
substances and products, including water, energy and resource use, from a
specified range of activities to environmental media and to on-site and offsite
treatment and disposal sites.
10. Nothing in this article may prejudice the right of Parties to refuse to
disclose certain environmental information in accordance with article 4,
paragraphs 3 and 4.
Article 6
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN DECISIONS ON SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES
1. Each Party:
(a) Shall apply the provisions of this article with respect to
decisions on whether to permit proposed activities listed in annex I;
(b) Shall, in accordance with its national law, also apply the
provisions of this article to decisions on proposed activities not listed in
annex I which may have a significant effect on the environment. To this end,
Parties shall determine whether such a proposed activity is subject to these
provisions; and
(c) May decide, on a case-by-case basis if so provided under national
law, not to apply the provisions of this article to proposed activities
serving national defence purposes, if that Party deems that such application
would have an adverse effect on these purposes.
2. The public concerned shall be informed, either by public notice or
individually as appropriate, early in an environmental decision-making
procedure, and in an adequate, timely and effective manner, inter alia, of:
(a) The proposed activity and the application on which a decision will
be taken;
(b) The nature of possible decisions or the draft decision;
(c) The public authority responsible for making the decision;
(d) The envisaged procedure, including, as and when this information
can be provided:
(i) The commencement of the procedure;
(ii) The opportunities for the public to participate;
(iii) The time and venue of any envisaged public hearing;
(iv) An indication of the public authority from which relevant
information can be obtained and where the relevant
information has been deposited for examination by the
public;
(v) An indication of the relevant public authority or any
other official body to which comments or questions can be
submitted and of the time schedule for transmittal of
comments or questions; and
(vi) An indication of what environmental information relevant
to the proposed activity is available; and
(e) The fact that the activity is subject to a national or
transboundary environmental impact assessment procedure.
3. The public participation procedures shall include reasonable time-frames
for the different phases, allowing sufficient time for informing the public in
accordance with paragraph 2 above and for the public to prepare and
participate effectively during the environmental decision-making.
4. Each Party shall provide for early public participation, when all
options are open and effective public participation can take place.
5. Each Party should, where appropriate, encourage prospective applicants
to identify the public concerned, to enter into discussions, and to provide
information regarding the objectives of their application before applying for
a permit.
6. Each Party shall require the competent public authorities to give the
public concerned access for examination, upon request where so required under
national law, free of charge and as soon as it becomes available, to all
information relevant to the decision-making referred to in this article that
is available at the time of the public participation procedure, without
prejudice to the right of Parties to refuse to disclose certain information in
accordance with article 4, paragraphs 3 and 4. The relevant information shall
include at least, and without prejudice to the provisions of article 4:
(a) A description of the site and the physical and technical
characteristics of the proposed activity, including an estimate of the
expected residues and emissions;
(b) A description of the significant effects of the proposed activity
on the environment;
(c) A description of the measures envisaged to prevent and/or reduce
the effects, including emissions;
(d) A non-technical summary of the above;
(e) An outline of the main alternatives studied by the applicant; and
(f) In accordance with national legislation, the main reports and
advice issued to the public authority at the time when the public concerned
shall be informed in accordance with paragraph 2 above.
7. Procedures for public participation shall allow the public to submit, in
writing or, as appropriate, at a public hearing or inquiry with the applicant,
any comments, information, analyses or opinions that it considers relevant to
the proposed activity.
8. Each Party shall ensure that in the decision due account is taken of the
outcome of the public participation.
9. Each Party shall ensure that, when the decision has been taken by the
public authority, the public is promptly informed of the decision in
accordance with the appropriate procedures. Each Party shall make accessible
to the public the text of the decision along with the reasons and
considerations on which the decision is based.
10. Each Party shall ensure that, when a public authority reconsiders or
updates the operating conditions for an activity referred to in
paragraph 1, the provisions of paragraphs 2 to 9 of this article are applied
mutatis mutandis, and where appropriate.
11. Each Party shall, within the framework of its national law, apply, to
the extent feasible and appropriate, provisions of this article to decisions
on whether to permit the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms
into the environment.
Article 7
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION CONCERNING PLANS, PROGRAMMES AND POLICIES
RELATING TO THE ENVIRONMENT
Each Party shall make appropriate practical and/or other provisions for
the public to participate during the preparation of plans and programmes
relating to the environment, within a transparent and fair framework, having
provided the necessary information to the public. Within this framework,
article 6, paragraphs 3, 4 and 8, shall be applied. The public which may
participate shall be identified by the relevant public authority, taking into
account the objectives of this Convention. To the extent appropriate, each
Party shall endeavour to provide opportunities for public participation in the
preparation of policies relating to the environment.
Article 8
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION DURING THE PREPARATION OF EXECUTIVE REGULATIONS AND/OR
GENERALLY APPLICABLE LEGALLY BINDING NORMATIVE INSTRUMENTS
Each Party shall strive to promote effective public participation at an
appropriate stage, and while options are still open, during the preparation by
public authorities of executive regulations and other generally applicable
legally binding rules that may have a significant effect on the environment.
To this end, the following steps should be taken:
(a) Time-frames sufficient for effective participation should be
fixed;
(b) Draft rules should be published or otherwise made publicly
available; and
(c) The public should be given the opportunity to comment, directly or
through representative consultative bodies.
The result of the public participation shall be taken into account as far as
possible.
Article 9
ACCESS TO JUSTICE
1. Each Party shall, within the framework of its national legislation, ensure
that any person who considers that his or her request for information under
article 4 has been ignored, wrongfully refused, whether in part or in full,
inadequately answered, or otherwise not dealt with in accordance with the
provisions of that article, has access to a review procedure before a court of
law or another independent and impartial body established by law.
In the circumstances where a Party provides for such a review by a court
of law, it shall ensure that such a person also has access to an expeditious
procedure established by law that is free of charge or inexpensive for
reconsideration by a public authority or review by an independent and
impartial body other than a court of law.
Final decisions under this paragraph 1 shall be binding on the public
authority holding the information. Reasons shall be stated in writing, at
least where access to information is refused under this paragraph.
2. Each Party shall, within the framework of its national legislation, ensure
that members of the public concerned
(a) Having a sufficient interest
or, alternatively,
(b) Maintaining impairment of a right, where the administrative
procedural law of a Party requires this as a precondition,
have access to a review procedure before a court of law and/or another
independent and impartial body established by law, to challenge the
substantive and procedural legality of any decision, act or omission subject
to the provisions of article 6 and, where so provided for under national law
and without prejudice to paragraph 3 below, of other relevant provisions of
this Convention.
What constitutes a sufficient interest and impairment of a right shall
be determined in accordance with the requirements of national law and
consistently with the objective of giving the public concerned wide access to
justice within the scope of this Convention. To this end, the interest of any
non-governmental organization meeting the requirements referred to in
article 2, paragraph 5, shall be deemed sufficient for the purpose of
subparagraph (a) above. Such organizations shall also be deemed to have rights
capable of being impaired for the purpose of subparagraph (b) above.
The provisions of this paragraph 2 shall not exclude the possibility of
a preliminary review procedure before an administrative authority and shall
not affect the requirement of exhaustion of administrative review procedures
prior to recourse to judicial review procedures, where such a requirement
exists under national law.
3. In addition and without prejudice to the review procedures referred to in
paragraphs 1 and 2 above, each Party shall ensure that, where they meet the
criteria, if any, laid down in its national law, members of the public have
access to administrative or judicial procedures to challenge acts and
omissions by private persons and public authorities which contravene
provisions of its national law relating to the environment.
4. In addition and without prejudice to paragraph 1 above, the procedures
referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 above shall provide adequate and
effective remedies, including injunctive relief as appropriate, and be fair,
equitable, timely and not prohibitively expensive. Decisions under this
article shall be given or recorded in writing. Decisions of courts, and
whenever possible of other bodies, shall be publicly accessible.
5. In order to further the effectiveness of the provisions of this article,
each Party shall ensure that information is provided to the public on access
to administrative and judicial review procedures and shall consider the
establishment of appropriate assistance mechanisms to remove or reduce
financial and other barriers to access to justice.
Article 10
MEETING OF THE PARTIES
1. The first meeting of the Parties shall be convened no later than one year
after the date of the entry into force of this Convention. Thereafter, an
ordinary meeting of the Parties shall be held at least once every two years,
unless otherwise decided by the Parties, or at the written request of any
Party, provided that, within six months of the request being communicated to
all Parties by the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe,
the said request is supported by at least one third of the Parties.
2. At their meetings, the Parties shall keep under continuous review the
implementation of this Convention on the basis of regular reporting by the
Parties, and, with this purpose in mind, shall:
(a) Review the policies for and legal and methodological approaches to
access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to
justice in environmental matters, with a view to further improving them;
(b) Exchange information regarding experience gained in concluding and
implementing bilateral and multilateral agreements or other arrangements
having relevance to the purposes of this Convention and to which one or more
of the Parties are a party;
(c) Seek, where appropriate, the services of relevant ECE bodies and
other competent international bodies and specific committees in all aspects
pertinent to the achievement of the purposes of this Convention;
(d) Establish any subsidiary bodies as they deem necessary;
(e) Prepare, where appropriate, protocols to this Convention;
(f) Consider and adopt proposals for amendments to this Convention in
accordance with the provisions of article 14;
(g) Consider and undertake any additional action that may be required
for the achievement of the purposes of this Convention;
(h) At their first meeting, consider and by consensus adopt rules of
procedure for their meetings and the meetings of subsidiary bodies;
(i) At their first meeting, review their experience in implementing
the provisions of article 5, paragraph 9, and consider what steps are
necessary to develop further the system referred to in that paragraph, taking
into account international processes and developments, including the
elaboration of an appropriate instrument concerning pollution release and
transfer registers or inventories which could be annexed to this Convention.
3. The Meeting of the Parties may, as necessary, consider establishing
financial arrangements on a consensus basis.
4. The United Nations, its specialized agencies and the International Atomic
Energy Agency, as well as any State or regional economic integration
organization entitled under article 17 to sign this Convention but which is
not a Party to this Convention, and any intergovernmental organization
qualified in the fields to which this Convention relates, shall be entitled to
participate as observers in the meetings of the Parties.
5. Any non-governmental organization, qualified in the fields to which this
Convention relates, which has informed the Executive Secretary of the Economic
Commission for Europe of its wish to be represented at a meeting of the
Parties shall be entitled to participate as an observer unless at least one
third of the Parties present in the meeting raise objections.
6. For the purposes of paragraphs 4 and 5 above, the rules of procedure
referred to in paragraph 2 (h) above shall provide for practical arrangements
for the admittance procedure and other relevant terms.
Article 11
RIGHT TO VOTE
1. Except as provided for in paragraph 2 below, each Party to this Convention
shall have one vote.
2. Regional economic integration organizations, in matters within their
competence, shall exercise their right to vote with a number of votes equal to
the number of their member States which are Parties to this Convention. Such
organizations shall not exercise their right to vote if their member States
exercise theirs, and vice versa.
Article 12
SECRETARIAT
The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe shall
carry out the following secretariat functions:
(a) The convening and preparing of meetings of the Parties;
(b) The transmission to the Parties of reports and other information
received in accordance with the provisions of this Convention; and
(c) Such other functions as may be determined by the Parties.
Article 13
ANNEXES
The annexes to this Convention shall constitute an integral part
thereof.
Article 14
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONVENTION
1. Any Party may propose amendments to this Convention.
2. The text of any proposed amendment to this Convention shall be submitted
in writing to the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe,
who shall communicate it to all Parties at least ninety days before the
meeting of the Parties at which it is proposed for adoption.
3. The Parties shall make every effort to reach agreement on any proposed
amendment to this Convention by consensus. If all efforts at consensus have
been exhausted, and no agreement reached, the amendment shall as a last resort
be adopted by a three-fourths majority vote of the Parties present and voting
at the meeting.
4. Amendments to this Convention adopted in accordance with paragraph 3
above shall be communicated by the Depositary to all Parties for ratification,
approval or acceptance. Amendments to this Convention other than those to an
annex shall enter into force for Parties having ratified, approved or accepted
them on the ninetieth day after the receipt by the Depositary of notification
of their ratification, approval or acceptance by at least three fourths of
these Parties. Thereafter they shall enter into force for any other Party on
the ninetieth day after that Party deposits its instrument of ratification,
approval or acceptance of the amendments.
5. Any Party that is unable to approve an amendment to an annex to this
Convention shall so notify the Depositary in writing within twelve months from
the date of the communication of the adoption. The Depositary shall without
delay notify all Parties of any such notification received. A Party may at any
time substitute an acceptance for its previous notification and, upon deposit
of an instrument of acceptance with the Depositary, the amendments to such an
annex shall become effective for that Party.
6. On the expiry of twelve months from the date of its communication by the
Depositary as provided for in paragraph 4 above an amendment to an annex shall
become effective for those Parties which have not submitted a notification to
the Depositary in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 5 above,
provided that not more than one third of the Parties have submitted such a
notification.
7. For the purposes of this article, "Parties present and voting" means
Parties present and casting an affirmative or negative vote.
Article 15
REVIEW OF COMPLIANCE
The Meeting of the Parties shall establish, on a consensus basis,
optional arrangements of a non-confrontational, non-judicial and consultative
nature for reviewing compliance with the provisions of this Convention. These
arrangements shall allow for appropriate public involvement and may include
the option of considering communications from members of the public on matters
related to this Convention.
Article 16
SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES
1. If a dispute arises between two or more Parties about the interpretation
or application of this Convention, they shall seek a solution by negotiation
or by any other means of dispute settlement acceptable to the parties to the
dispute.
2. When signing, ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to this
Convention, or at any time thereafter, a Party may declare in writing to the
Depositary that, for a dispute not resolved in accordance with paragraph 1
above, it accepts one or both of the following means of dispute settlement as
compulsory in relation to any Party accepting the same obligation:
(a) Submission of the dispute to the International Court of Justice;
(b) Arbitration in accordance with the procedure set out in annex II.
3. If the parties to the dispute have accepted both means of dispute
settlement referred to in paragraph 2 above, the dispute may be submitted only
to the International Court of Justice, unless the parties agree otherwise.
Article 17
SIGNATURE
This Convention shall be open for signature at Aarhus (Denmark) on 25
June 1998, and thereafter at United Nations Headquarters in New York until
21 December 1998, by States members of the Economic Commission for Europe as
well as States having consultative status with the Economic Commission for
Europe pursuant to paragraphs 8 and 11 of Economic and Social Council
resolution 36 (IV) of 28 March 1947, and by regional economic integration
organizations constituted by sovereign States members of the Economic
Commission for Europe to which their member States have transferred competence
over matters governed by this Convention, including the competence to enter
into treaties in respect of these matters.
Article 18
DEPOSITARY
The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall act as the Depositary
of this Convention.
Article 19
RATIFICATION, ACCEPTANCE, APPROVAL AND ACCESSION
1. This Convention shall be subject to ratification, acceptance or approval
by signatory States and regional economic integration organizations.
2. This Convention shall be open for accession as from 22 December 1998 by
the States and regional economic integration organizations referred to in
article 17.
3. Any other State, not referred to in paragraph 2 above, that is a Member
of the United Nations may accede to the Convention upon approval by the
Meeting of the Parties.
4. Any organization referred to in article 17 which becomes a Party to this
Convention without any of its member States being a Party shall be bound by
all the obligations under this Convention. If one or more of such an
organization’s member States is a Party to this Convention, the organization
and its member States shall decide on their respective responsibilities for
the performance of their obligations under this Convention. In such cases, the
organization and the member States shall not be entitled to exercise rights
under this Convention concurrently.
5. In their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession,
the regional economic integration organizations referred to in article 17
shall declare the extent of their competence with respect to the matters
governed by this Convention. These organizations shall also inform the
Depositary of any substantial modification to the extent of their competence.
Article 20
ENTRY INTO FORCE
1. This Convention shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after the
date of deposit of the sixteenth instrument of ratification, acceptance,
approval or accession.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1 above, any instrument deposited by a
regional economic integration organization shall not be counted as additional
to those deposited by States members of such an organization.
3. For each State or organization referred to in article 17 which ratifies,
accepts or approves this Convention or accedes thereto after the deposit of
the sixteenth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession,
the Convention shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after the date of
deposit by such State or organization of its instrument of ratification,
acceptance, approval or accession.
Article 21
WITHDRAWAL
At any time after three years from the date on which this Convention has
come into force with respect to a Party, that Party may withdraw from the
Convention by giving written notification to the Depositary. Any such
withdrawal shall take effect on the ninetieth day after the date of its
receipt by the Depositary.
Article 22
AUTHENTIC TEXTS
The original of this Convention, of which the English, French and
Russian texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited with the
Secretary-General of the United Nations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto, have
signed this Convention.
DONE at Aarhus (Denmark), this twenty-fifth day of June, one thousand
nine hundred and ninety-eight.
Annex I
LIST OF ACTIVITIES REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 6, PARAGRAPH 1 (a)
1. Energy sector:
- Mineral oil and gas refineries;
- Installations for gasification and liquefaction;
- Thermal power stations and other combustion installations with a
heat input of 50 megawatts (MW)or more;
- Coke ovens;
- Nuclear power stations and other nuclear reactors including the
dismantling or decommissioning of such power stations or reactors
1/ (except research installations for the production and
conversion of fissionable and fertile materials whose maximum
power does not exceed 1 kW continuous thermal load);
- Installations for the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear fuel;
- Installations designed:
- For the production or enrichment of nuclear fuel;
- For the processing of irradiated nuclear fuel or high-level
radioactive waste;
- For the final disposal of irradiated nuclear fuel;
- Solely for the final disposal of radioactive waste;
- Solely for the storage (planned for more than 10 years) of
irradiated nuclear fuels or radioactive waste in a different
site than the production site.
2. Production and processing of metals:
- Metal ore (including sulphide ore) roasting or sintering
installations;
- Installations for the production of pig-iron or steel (primary or
secondary fusion) including continuous casting, with a capacity
exceeding 2.5 tons per hour;
- Installations for the processing of ferrous metals:
(i) Hot-rolling mills with a capacity exceeding 20 tons of crude
steel per hour;
(ii) Smitheries with hammers the energy of which exceeds 50
kilojoules per hammer, where the calorific power used
exceeds 20 MW;
(iii) Application of protective fused metal coats with an input
exceeding 2 tons of crude steel per hour;
- Ferrous metal foundries with a production capacity exceeding 20
tons per day;
- Installations:
(i) For the production of non-ferrous crude metals from ore,
concentrates or secondary raw materials by metallurgical,
chemical or electrolytic processes;
(ii) For the smelting, including the alloying, of non-ferrous
metals, including recovered products (refining, foundry
casting, etc.), with a melting capacity exceeding 4 tons per
day for lead and cadmium or 20 tons per day for all other
metals;
- Installations for surface treatment of metals and plastic
materials using an electrolytic or chemical process where the
volume of the treatment vats exceeds 30 m3.
3. Mineral industry:
- Installations for the production of cement clinker in rotary kilns
with a production capacity exceeding 500 tons per day or lime in
rotary kilns with a production capacity exceeding 50 tons per day
or in other furnaces with a production capacity exceeding 50 tons
per day;
- Installations for the production of asbestos and the manufacture
of asbestos-based products;
- Installations for the manufacture of glass including glass fibre
with a melting capacity exceeding 20 tons per day;
- Installations for melting mineral substances including the
production of mineral fibres with a melting capacity exceeding 20
tons per day;
- Installations for the manufacture of ceramic products by firing,
in particular roofing tiles, bricks, refractory bricks, tiles,
stoneware or porcelain, with a production capacity exceeding 75
tons per day, and/or with a kiln capacity exceeding 4 m3 and with
a setting density per kiln exceeding 300 kg/m3.
4. Chemical industry: Production within the meaning of the categories of
activities contained in this paragraph means the production on an industrial
scale by chemical processing of substances or groups of substances listed in
subparagraphs (a) to (g):
(a) Chemical installations for the production of basic organic
chemicals, such as:
(i) Simple hydrocarbons (linear or cyclic, saturated or
unsaturated, aliphatic or aromatic);
(ii) Oxygen-containing hydrocarbons such as alcohols,
aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, esters, acetates,
ethers, peroxides, epoxy resins;
(iii) Sulphurous hydrocarbons;
(iv) Nitrogenous hydrocarbons such as amines, amides, nitrous
compounds, nitro compounds or nitrate compounds,
nitriles, cyanates, isocyanates;
(v) Phosphorus-containing hydrocarbons;
(vi) Halogenic hydrocarbons;
(vii) Organometallic compounds;
(viii) Basic plastic materials (polymers, synthetic fibres and
cellulose-based fibres);
(ix) Synthetic rubbers;
(x) Dyes and pigments;
(xi) Surface-active agents and surfactants;
(b) Chemical installations for the production of basic inorganic
chemicals, such as:
(i) Gases, such as ammonia, chlorine or hydrogen chloride,
fluorine or hydrogen fluoride, carbon oxides, sulphur
compounds, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen, sulphur dioxide,
carbonyl chloride;
(ii) Acids, such as chromic acid, hydrofluoric acid, phosphoric
acid, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, sulphuric acid, oleum,
sulphurous acids;
(iii) Bases, such as ammonium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide,
sodium hydroxide;
(iv) Salts, such as ammonium chloride, potassium chlorate,
potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate, perborate, silver
nitrate;
(v) Non-metals, metal oxides or other inorganic compounds such
as calcium carbide, silicon, silicon carbide;
(c) Chemical installations for the production of phosphorous-,
nitrogen- or potassium-based fertilizers (simple or compound fertilizers);
(d) Chemical installations for the production of basic plant
health products and of biocides;
(e) Installations using a chemical or biological process for the
production of basic pharmaceutical products;
(f) Chemical installations for the production of explosives;
(g) Chemical installations in which chemical or biological processing
is used for the production of protein feed additives, ferments and other
protein substances.
5. Waste management:
- Installations for the incineration, recovery, chemical treatment
or landfill of hazardous waste;
- Installations for the incineration of municipal waste with a
capacity exceeding 3 tons per hour;
- Installations for the disposal of non-hazardous waste with a
capacity exceeding 50 tons per day;
- Landfills receiving more than 10 tons per day or with a total
capacity exceeding 25 000 tons, excluding landfills of inert
waste.
6. Waste-water treatment plants with a capacity exceeding 150 000
population equivalent.
7. Industrial plants for the:
(a) Production of pulp from timber or similar fibrous materials;
(b) Production of paper and board with a production capacity exceeding
20 tons per day.
8. (a) Construction of lines for long-distance railway traffic and of
airports 2/ with a basic runway length of 2 100 m or more;
(b) Construction of motorways and express roads; 3/
(c) Construction of a new road of four or more lanes, or realignment
and/or widening of an existing road of two lanes or less so as to provide four
or more lanes, where such new road, or realigned and/or widened section of
road, would be 10 km or more in a continuous length.
9. (a) Inland waterways and ports for inland-waterway traffic which
permit the passage of vessels of over 1 350 tons;
(b) Trading ports, piers for loading and unloading connected to land
and outside ports (excluding ferry piers) which can take vessels of over 1 350
tons.
10. Groundwater abstraction or artificial groundwater recharge schemes where
the annual volume of water abstracted or recharged is equivalent to or exceeds
10 million cubic metres.
11. (a) Works for the transfer of water resources between river basins
where this transfer aims at preventing possible shortages of water and where
the amount of water transferred exceeds 100 million cubic metres/year;
(b) In all other cases, works for the transfer of water resources
between river basins where the multiannual average flow of the basin of
abstraction exceeds 2 000 million cubic metres/year and where the amount of
water transferred exceeds 5% of this flow.
In both cases transfers of piped drinking water are excluded.
12. Extraction of petroleum and natural gas for commercial purposes where
the amount extracted exceeds 500 tons/day in the case of petroleum and 500 000
cubic metres/day in the case of gas.
13. Dams and other installations designed for the holding back or permanent
storage of water, where a new or additional amount of water held back or
stored exceeds 10 million cubic metres.
14. Pipelines for the transport of gas, oil or chemicals with a diameter of
more than 800 mm and a length of more than 40 km.
15. Installations for the intensive rearing of poultry or pigs with more than:
(a) 40 000 places for poultry;
(b) 2 000 places for production pigs (over 30 kg); or
(c) 750 places for sows.
16. Quarries and opencast mining where the surface of the site exceeds 25
hectares, or peat extraction, where the surface of the site exceeds 150 hectares.
17. Construction of overhead electrical power lines with a voltage of 220 kV
or more and a length of more than 15 km.
18. Installations for the storage of petroleum, petrochemical, or chemical
products with a capacity of 200 000 tons or more.
19. Other activities:
- Plants for the pretreatment (operations such as washing,
bleaching, mercerization) or dyeing of fibres or textiles where
the treatment capacity exceeds 10 tons per day;
- Plants for the tanning of hides and skins where the treatment
capacity exceeds 12 tons of finished products per day;
- (a) Slaughterhouses with a carcass production capacity greater
than 50 tons per day;
(b) Treatment and processing intended for the production of food
products from:
(i) Animal raw materials (other than milk) with a finished
product production capacity greater than 75 tons per
day;
(ii) Vegetable raw materials with a finished product
production capacity greater than 300 tons per day
(average value on a quarterly basis);
(c) Treatment and processing of milk, the quantity of milk
received being greater than 200 tons per day (average value
on an annual basis);
- Installations for the disposal or recycling of animal carcasses
and animal waste with a treatment capacity exceeding 10 tons per
day;
- Installations for the surface treatment of substances, objects or
products using organic solvents, in particular for dressing,
printing, coating, degreasing, waterproofing, sizing, painting,
cleaning or impregnating, with a consumption capacity of more than
150 kg per hour or more than 200 tons per year;
- Installations for the production of carbon (hard-burnt coal) or
electrographite by means of incineration or graphitization.
20. Any activity not covered by paragraphs 1-19 above where public
participation is provided for under an environmental impact assessment
procedure in accordance with national legislation.
21. The provision of article 6, paragraph 1 (a) of this Convention, does not
apply to any of the above projects undertaken exclusively or mainly for
research, development and testing of new methods or products for less than two
years unless they would be likely to cause a significant adverse effect on
environment or health.
22. Any change to or extension of activities, where such a change or
extension in itself meets the criteria/thresholds set out in this annex, shall
be subject to article 6, paragraph 1 (a) of this Convention. Any other change
or extension of activities shall be subject to article 6, paragraph 1 (b) of
this Convention.
Notes
1/ Nuclear power stations and other nuclear reactors cease to be such
an installation when all nuclear fuel and other radioactively contaminated
elements have been removed permanently from the installation site.
2/ For the purposes of this Convention, "airport" means an airport which
complies with the definition in the 1944 Chicago Convention setting up the
International Civil Aviation Organization (Annex 14).
3/ For the purposes of this Convention, "express road" means a road
which complies with the definition in the European Agreement on Main
International Traffic Arteries of 15 November 1975.
Annex II
ARBITRATION
1. In the event of a dispute being submitted for arbitration pursuant to
article 16, paragraph 2, of this Convention, a party or parties shall notify
the secretariat of the subject matter of arbitration and indicate, in
particular, the articles of this Convention whose interpretation or
application is at issue. The secretariat shall forward the information
received to all Parties to this Convention.
2. The arbitral tribunal shall consist of three members. Both the claimant
party or parties and the other party or parties to the dispute shall appoint
an arbitrator, and the two arbitrators so appointed shall designate by common
agreement the third arbitrator, who shall be the president of the arbitral
tribunal. The latter shall not be a national of one of the parties to the
dispute, nor have his or her usual place of residence in the territory of one
of these parties, nor be employed by any of them, nor have dealt with the case
in any other capacity.
3. If the president of the arbitral tribunal has not been designated within
two months of the appointment of the second arbitrator, the Executive
Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe shall, at the request of
either party to the dispute, designate the president within a further
two-month period.
4. If one of the parties to the dispute does not appoint an arbitrator
within two months of the receipt of the request, the other party may so inform
the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe, who shall
designate the president of the arbitral tribunal within a further two-month
period. Upon designation, the president of the arbitral tribunal shall
request the party which has not appointed an arbitrator to do so within two
months. If it fails to do so within that period, the president shall so
inform the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe, who
shall make this appointment within a further two-month period.
5. The arbitral tribunal shall render its decision in accordance with
international law and the provisions of this Convention.
6. Any arbitral tribunal constituted under the provisions set out in this
annex shall draw up its own rules of procedure.
7. The decisions of the arbitral tribunal, both on procedure and on
substance, shall be taken by majority vote of its members.
8. The tribunal may take all appropriate measures to establish the facts.
9. The parties to the dispute shall facilitate the work of the arbitral
tribunal and, in particular, using all means at their disposal, shall:
(a) Provide it with all relevant documents, facilities and
information;
(b) Enable it, where necessary, to call witnesses or experts and
receive their evidence.
10. The parties and the arbitrators shall protect the confidentiality of any
information that they receive in confidence during the proceedings of the
arbitral tribunal.
11. The arbitral tribunal may, at the request of one of the parties,
recommend interim measures of protection.
12. If one of the parties to the dispute does not appear before the arbitral
tribunal or fails to defend its case, the other party may request the tribunal
to continue the proceedings and to render its final decision. Absence of a
party or failure of a party to defend its case shall not constitute a bar to
the proceedings.
13. The arbitral tribunal may hear and determine counter-claims arising
directly out of the subject matter of the dispute.
14. Unless the arbitral tribunal determines otherwise because of the
particular circumstances of the case, the expenses of the tribunal, including
the remuneration of its members, shall be borne by the parties to the dispute
in equal shares. The tribunal shall keep a record of all its expenses, and
shall furnish a final statement thereof to the parties.
15. Any Party to this Convention which has an interest of a legal nature in
the subject matter of the dispute, and which may be affected by a decision in
the case, may intervene in the proceedings with the consent of the tribunal.
16. The arbitral tribunal shall render its award within five months of the
date on which it is established, unless it finds it necessary to extend the
time limit for a period which should not exceed five months.
17. The award of the arbitral tribunal shall be accompanied by a statement
of reasons. It shall be final and binding upon all parties to the dispute.
The award will be transmitted by the arbitral tribunal to the parties to the
dispute and to the secretariat. The secretariat will forward the information
received to all Parties to this Convention.
18. Any dispute which may arise between the parties concerning the
interpretation or execution of the award may be submitted by either party to
the arbitral tribunal which made the award or, if the latter cannot be seized
thereof, to another tribunal constituted for this purpose in the same manner
as the first.