It is time for the EU to amend the Aarhus Regulation to comply with international law

ClientEarth asserts that the EU is in violation of international law following a 2017 finding by the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee (ACCC) that the EU fails to provide the public with adequate access to EU courts. The document argues that the current Aarhus Regulation is unduly restrictive, noting that only 7 out of 35 internal review requests were declared admissible. ClientEarth contends that amending the Aarhus Regulation is the only viable legal mechanism to remedy these shortcomings and bring the EU into compliance with the Aarhus Convention and the Vienna Convention of the Law of Treaties.

• The Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee (ACCC) determined on 17 March 2017 that the EU is in violation of the Aarhus Convention because it does not provide members of the public with access to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
• The current EU system of remedies is insufficient, as the preliminary reference system under Article 267 TFEU does not meet the requirements of Article 9(3) of the Convention, and the CJEU has clarified that the public lacks standing under Article 263 TFEU to challenge acts and omissions not addressed to them.
• The Aarhus Regulation is considered overly restrictive; of 35 requests for internal review made by the public since 2006, only 7 were declared admissible, with most denials based on requirements regarding 'individual scope', 'environmental law', and 'legally binding and external effects'.
• ClientEarth argues that amending the Aarhus Regulation is the only available means for the EU to fulfill its international law obligations, as the EU cannot use its internal law to avoid treaty obligations under Article 27 of the Vienna Convention of the Law of Treaties.

APA

Berthier, A. (2018). It is time for the EU to amend the Aarhus Regulation to comply with international law. ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/it-is-time-for-the-eu-to-amend-the-aarhus-regulation-to-comply-with-international-law/

Chicago

Berthier, Anaïs. It is time for the EU to amend the Aarhus Regulation to comply with international law. ClientEarth, 2018. https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/it-is-time-for-the-eu-to-amend-the-aarhus-regulation-to-comply-with-international-law/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Berthier |first1=Anaïs |title=It is time for the EU to amend the Aarhus Regulation to comply with international law |publisher=ClientEarth |date=28 May 2018 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/it-is-time-for-the-eu-to-amend-the-aarhus-regulation-to-comply-with-international-law/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{berthier2018time, author = {Berthier, Anaïs}, title = {{It is time for the EU to amend the Aarhus Regulation to comply with international law}}, publisher = {ClientEarth}, year = {2018}, month = may, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/it-is-time-for-the-eu-to-amend-the-aarhus-regulation-to-comply-with-international-law/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }