Today we are delighted to publish a new report, The clear and urgent case for a Scottish Environment Court, commissioned by ERCS and authored by Prof. Campbell Gemmell. The report advances the case for a dedicated Scottish Environment Court to develop expertise, increase access to justice, and address gaps in Scotland’s post-Brexit environmental governance regime.
The report is informed by a roundtable event hosted by ERCS in February, and builds on the arguments from our report on Why Scotland needs an Environmental Court or Tribunal (October 2021), in which we explain how a dedicated Environment Court would act as a ‘one stop shop’ for judicial routes to remedy on environmental matters and meet Scotland’s obligations under the Aarhus convention.
This is timely because under the Continuity Act, the Scottish Government has a duty to consult on ‘whether the law in Scotland on access to justice on environmental matters is effective and sufficient, and whether and, if so, how the establishment of an environmental court could enhance the governance arrangements’. We expect the consultation to be out by the end of May.
