The Court of Justice of the EU confirms environmental NGOs can challenge forest management plans

The CJEU ruled on March 2, 2023, that Polish law violated EU biodiversity conservation laws and the Aarhus Convention by preventing the public from challenging forest management plans in court. The Court determined that such plans, when they significantly affect Natura 2000 sites, constitute 'decisions' under the Aarhus Convention, granting environmental NGOs access to judicial review. While the ruling specifically addresses plans impacting protected sites, the author notes that other plans may still be challengeable under Article 9(3) of the Aarhus Convention if they contravene national environmental law.

• The CJEU ruled on March 2, 2023, that environmental NGOs must be permitted to challenge forest management plans in national courts, overturning previous Polish court holdings that these plans were merely "internal administrative acts".
• The Court concluded that forest management plans fall under Article 6(3) of the Habitats Directive as plans likely to have a significant effect on Natura 2000 sites, and therefore qualify as "a decision on activities which may have a significant effect on the environment" under Article 6(1)(b) of the Aarhus Convention.
• Because these plans are classified as decisions under the Aarhus Convention, they fall within the scope of Article 9(2), which grants "members of the public concerned", including environmental organizations, wide access to justice for effective review of plans impacting Natura 2000 sites.
• The author notes that forest management plans that do not impact Natura 2000 sites were not analyzed by the Court in this case, but may still be challengeable under Article 9(3) of the Aarhus Convention if they violate national environmental laws, such as the Polish Law on Forests.

APA

Dąbrowska, E. (2023). The Court of Justice of the EU confirms environmental NGOs can challenge forest management plans. ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/the-court-of-justice-of-the-eu-confirms-environmental-ngos-can-challenge-forest-management-plans/

Chicago

Dąbrowska, Ewa. The Court of Justice of the EU confirms environmental NGOs can challenge forest management plans. ClientEarth, 2023. https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/the-court-of-justice-of-the-eu-confirms-environmental-ngos-can-challenge-forest-management-plans/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Dąbrowska |first1=Ewa |title=The Court of Justice of the EU confirms environmental NGOs can challenge forest management plans |publisher=ClientEarth |date=21 December 2023 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/the-court-of-justice-of-the-eu-confirms-environmental-ngos-can-challenge-forest-management-plans/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dbrowska2023court, author = {Dąbrowska, Ewa}, title = {{The Court of Justice of the EU confirms environmental NGOs can challenge forest management plans}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2023}, month = dec, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/the-court-of-justice-of-the-eu-confirms-environmental-ngos-can-challenge-forest-management-plans/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }