The Scottish Government has failed to implement recommendations to guarantee access to justice to uphold environmental rights, according to a new UN report.
In October 2021, the governing body of the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (the Aarhus Convention) adopted decision VII/8s on compliance by the United Kingdom with its obligations under the Convention.
For over fifteen years, UN legal experts have identified a number of areas where Scotland is non-compliant with the Convention, which requires that access to justice is ‘fair, equitable, timely, and not prohibitively expensive’. To meet its treaty obligations, the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee made six recommendations to remove barriers, ‘as a matter urgency’, that are preventing people from taking environmental cases to court by the deadline of 1 October 2024.
Scotland failed to fully implement the recommendations by the deadline, and after reviewing the UK’s progress report, the Committee has concluded that it remains in breach of the Convention.
The assessment comes as environmental and human rights protections are under threat in Britain and across the world. Both Reform UK and the Conservative Party threaten to leave the European Convention of Human Rights if they win the next General Election, and the UK government, who have overruled environmental objections to back a number of new developments, including new airport runways at Gatwick and Heathrow, are reportedly considering leaving the Aarhus Convention in order to avoid the threat of judicial reviews.
In Scotland, the Scottish Government dropped its commitment to introducing a flagship Human Rights Bill, which would have enshrined a legal right to a healthy environment in Scots law for the first time.
Ben Christman, Legal Director at ERCS, said:
‘The Scottish civil justice system continues to fall short of the requirements of the Aarhus Convention to ensure access to justice in environmental matters.
The Scottish Government was effectively put into special measures in 2021 due to longstanding non-compliance. The four years which have since passed should have been used to make and implement a comprehensive plan to ensure compliance. While some positive changes have been made in that period which have improved access to justice, the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee’s recent report makes clear they were insufficient. We need to see comprehensive action to make environmental litigation affordable, including reforming legal aid and establishing a Scottish Environment Court.’
Dan Paris, Advocacy Manager at Scottish Environment LINK, said:
‘Empowering people to act on the climate and nature crisis has never been more important. Scotland is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world, our rivers are choking with pollution, and this summer we were hit by the worst wildfires in our recorded history. Yet this latest report shows that the Scottish Government have made negligible progress in ensuring that environmental defenders can access our justice system and hold public authorities and polluters to account.
It’s time for our government to stop make excuses and make environmental litigation affordable, so that we are all able to stand up for nature and uphold our environmental rights’
ENDS
For more information contact
Benji Brown, Policy & Advocacy Officer
Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland
bbrown@ercs.scot, 07856 407479
NOTES TO EDITORS
[1] The UNECE Aarhus Convention guarantees the right to go to court to challenge decisions, acts and omissions that break environmental law. Article 9 of the Convention requires that access to the courts is fair, equitable, timely and not prohibitively expensive. The United Kingdom ratified the UNECE Aarhus Convention in 2005. Scotland is obliged to ensure that its legal system is compliant with the Convention. https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/pp/documents/cep43e.pdf
[2] Decision VII/8s the concerning compliance by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with its obligations under the Convention was adopted by the 7th Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention in Geneva, October 2021, and followed follow similar findings of non-compliance in 2011, 2014 and 2017. The decision is available at: https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2022-01/Decision_VII.8s_eng.pdf (Paragraphs 1(b), 2 (a-d), 9). The most recent (Oct 2025) Report of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee on decision VII/8s of the Meeting of the Parties concerning compliance by the United Kingdom is available here: https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2025-10/VII.8s_UK_report_MOP8_advance_unedited.pdf
[3] The Action Plan as submitted to the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee by the UK Government is available here: https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/frPartyVII.8s_01.07.2022_plan_action.pdf
[4] The November 2024 UK Progress Report is available here: https://www.ercs.scot/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/UK-Aarhus-Convention-2024-Progress-Report-FINAL.pdf
[5] The Aarhus Convention Secretariat invited responses to the UK Government Progress Report by 6 January 2025. RSPB, Friends of the Earth England Wales and Northern Ireland, and the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland’s joint formal response is available here: https://www.ercs.scot/wp/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/250106_RSPB_FoE_ERCS_NI_UKFPR_Response.pdf
[6] Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland’s most recent evaluation of the Scottish Government’s progress towards to the UK Action Plan is available here: https://www.ercs.scot/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ERCS_Aarhus-access-to-justice-briefing_June24-1.pdf
[7] ERCS has published three briefings on the Scottish Civil Justice Council’s review of court rules:
- Scotland’s new protective expenses rules remain non-compliant with the Aarhus Convention (July 2024)
- Protective Expenses Orders: Investigation reveals why legal expenses regime needs reform (Nov 2023)
- Protective Expenses Orders: Access to information remains a barrier to justice (Nov 2022)
[8] The Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland (ERCS) is an environmental law charity. We carry out advocacy in policy and law reform to improve environmental rights, and full compliance with the Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making, and access to justice on environmental matters. https://www.ercs.scot
