700 enquiries to ERCS’s Law Service
By Shivali Fifield, ERCS Chief Officer
Why we set up ERCS
The Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland (ERCS) was established in 2020 to support organisations and communities to use the law to hold public bodies and polluters to account.
The evidence was clear – despite clear breaches of environmental laws, people didn’t know how to access information, get understandable responses from regulators and, most importantly, see improvements in environmental quality. From raw sewage spills in rivers and beaches, to protecting ancient woodlands and local greenspaces, help was needed to navigate the quagmire of monitoring, reporting and enforcement.
Providing free legal advice
The processes and mechanisms for us to exercise our environmental rights, and ensure environmental laws are enforced, are protected by the UNECE Aarhus Convention: the right to be informed and have access to information about the environment; the right to participate in environmental decision-making; and the right to fair, affordable access to justice and effective remedies.
But, as we all know, rights on paper are not the same as rights in action. This is why, as well as advocating for improved environmental laws, we started our free legal advice service with Ben Christman as our part-time solicitor in June 2021. Although we knew there were problems, we had no idea of the geographical range and nature of enquiries we would receive, with a fifth coming from the most deprived areas in Scotland.
We started as a small organisation with limited funding but within a couple of years we realised we needed to do more. We were delighted to have Kate Smith join Ben as our second solicitor last year and, in December 2025, we launched our own law firm so that we can also provide free legal representation to protect our right to live in a healthy environment.
Our law service making impact
It’s early days, but recent wins include the Scottish Government issuing a screening direction requiring an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for a proposal to build a 210-megawatt data centre in the South Gyle Edinburgh, and protective expenses orders (PEOs) granted to two clients to enable them to take their cases to judicial reviews and have their legal costs capped. These cases demonstrate the commitment, tenacity and forbearance of people determined to defend the environment despite the power of authorities. They also demonstrate the significant barriers to access to justice – in costs, time and energy for environmental defenders, and why Scotland needs to fully comply with the access to justice requirements of the Aarhus Convention.
700 enquiries and counting
We hope our snapshot of the 700 enquiries to our law service gives a taster of what we do. You can also read the voices for justice blogs from previous clients to get a glimpse of the lived experiences of standing up for nature and our health and what needs to change.
Related
Header image: ERCS Legal Director Ben Christman, Chief Officer Shivali Fifield and In-house Solicitor Kate Smith by Eloise Bishop.
