Background
(a) provides a platform for sharing of information, experiences and good practices related to access to justice (through e.g. collection and dissemination of relevant practices and establishment of portal for the relevant jurisprudence);
(b) plans and implements strategic and catalytic capacity-building activities and information exchange, in particular for senior members of the judiciary at the subregional level;
(c) Considers means of facilitating training of trainers on access to justice in environmental matters;
(d) Develops training materials on implementation of article 9 of the Convention that are adaptable to national priorities and the needs of specific groups of legal professionals;
(e) Examines the way the issue of remedies is handled in a selection of representative countries;
(f) Continues the exchange of information and analytical work on criteria for standing;
(g) Continues the exchange of information on practices in establishment of assistance mechanisms to remove or reduce financial barriers;
(h) Considers practical arrangements for increasing support for public interest lawyers and strengthening the capacities of non-governmental organizations;
(i) Identifies good practice with respect to ensuring that sufficient scientific and technical expertise is available to review bodies dealing with environmental cases;
(j) Continues exploring the potential use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms as a means to further the objectives of the Convention;
(k) Encourages the involvement of representatives of ministries of justice, the judiciary, other legal professionals, including public interest lawyers and non-governmental organizations specializing in litigation and legal advice on environmental matters, in its activities;
(l) Carries out such other tasks related to access to justice as the Working Group of the Parties may assign to the Task Force;
(m) Presents the results of its work for consideration and appropriate action by the Working Group of the Parties.
The Task Force was established pursue to the following decisions of the Meeting of the Parties.
The first session of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention (Lucca, Italy 21-23 October 2002) decided to establish a Task Force on Access to Justice to support the implementation of the third pillar of the Convention by inter alia, examining good practices, sharing experience with implementation of particular paragraphs of article 9 of the Convention and assessing the impact of certain barriers in access to justice such as costs and delays. The mandate of the Task Force was completed. More detailed information on the activities of the Task Force in the period of 2002-2005 can be found here.
At their second session (Almaty, Kazakhstan, 25-27 May 2005) the Parties adopted decision II/2 on promoting effective access to justice (ENG, FRE, RUS) and established a Task Force to carry out further work with practical focus in relation to the elements of that decision.
The mandate of the Task Force was extended in time by the Meeting of the Parties through decision III/3 on promoting effective access to justice ( ENG, FRE, RUS), adopted at its third session (Riga, 11-13 June 2008).
The mandate of the Task Force was extended by the Meeting of the Parties through decision IV/2 on promoting effective access to justice (ENG, FRE, RUS), adopted at its fourth session (Chisinau, 29 June - 1 July 2011). The Meeting of the Parties also decided to give access to justice particular priority (see para. 7 of Decision IV/6 on the work programme for 2012-2014 (ECE/MP.PP/2011/2/Add.1).
The mandate of the Task Force was further extended by the Meeting of the Parties through decision V/3 on promoting effective access to justice (ENG, FRE, RUS), adopted at its fifth session (Maastricht, the Netherlands, 30 June - 2 July 2014). The Meeting of the Parties also decided to continue giving access to justice particular priority (see para. 7 of Decision V/6 on the work programme for 2015-2017 in ENG FRE and RUS).
The mandate of the Task Force was further extended by the Meeting of the Parties through decision VI/3 on promoting effective access to justice (ENG, FRE, RUS), adopted at its sixth session (Budva, Montenegro, 11-13 September 2017). The Meeting of the Parties also decided to continue giving access to justice particular priority (see para. 8 of Decision VI/5 on the work programme for 2018-2021 in ENG FRE and RUS).
The mandate of the Task Force was further extended by the Meeting of the Parties through decision VII/3 on promoting effective access to justice (ENG, FRE, RUS), adopted at its seventh session (Geneva, 18-21 October 2021).
The Task Force is currently led by Belgium and chaired by Mr. Luc Lavrysen.
- Meetings
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Sixteenth meeting (Geneva, 18-19 February 2025)
Fifteenth meeting (Geneva, 4-5 April 2023)
Fourteenth meeting (Geneva, 27-28 April 2022)
Thirteenth meeting (Geneva (hybrid), 15-16 February 2021)
WGP-24 thematic session on access to justice (Geneva (hybrid), 28 October 2020)Twelfth meeting (Geneva, 28 February-1 March 2019)
Eleventh meeting (Geneva, 27-28 February 2018)
Tenth meeting (Geneva, 27-28 February 2017)
Ninth meeting (Geneva, 13-15 June 2016)
Eighth meeting (Geneva, 15-17 June 2015)
Seventh meeting (Geneva, 24-25 February 2014)
Sixth meeting (Geneva, 17-18 June 2013)
Fifth meeting (Geneva, 13-14 June 2012)
Fourth meeting (Geneva, 7-8 February 2011)Third meeting (Geneva, 14-15 October 2009)
Second meeting (Geneva, 10-12 September 2007)
First meeting (Geneva, 16-17 February 2006)Meetings of the previous Task Force on Access to Justice
Third meeting (Geneva, 4-6 October 2004)
Second meeting (Geneva, 20-21 November 2003)
First meeting (Geneva, 10-11 March 2003) - Case law related to the Aarhus Convention
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Further information is available from:
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Analytical studies and surveys
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Further information is available from:
https://unece.org/env/pp/analytical-studies-and-surveys-on-access-to-ju…
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Capacity-building activities
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Further information is available from:
https://unece.org/env/pp/capacity-building-related-to-access-to-justice