Aarhus Convention
We are advocating for Scotland to fulfil its legal obligations under the UN Aarhus Convention, an international treaty which enshrines our procedural environmental rights.
What is the Aarhus Convention?
The UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) is an environmental treaty signed by the UK in 2005. It guarantees our legal right to participate in democratic processes relating to environmental matters:
- The right to be informed and have access to information about the environment
- The right to participate in environmental decision-making
- The right to fair and affordable access to justice and effective remedies
Scotland is breaching our right to access justice
Access to legal justice ensures that citizens can challenge environmental decisions, acts or omissions in a court of law. It allows us to hold polluters and public bodies to account for environmental damage, stand up for nature, and defend our right to a healthy environment.
But in Scotland, access to justice is complex, intimidating, and expensive. It can cost tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds to take an environmental case to court.
Holding the Scottish Government to account
Scotland is in breach of Article 9 of the Aarhus Convention. The governing bodies of the Convention gave Scotland until 1 October 2024 to implement their recommendations to remove barriers to justice, but the Scottish Government has committed to only minor reforms and failed to guarantee access to environmental justice.
In 2025, the Scottish Parliament hosted a debate on environmental justice and Scottish Ministers were challenged over their record, but refused to give a date for when Scotland would meet its legal obligations under the Convention.
Read our final comments on the UK’s progress report, debate briefing and a timeline and scorecard of Scotland’s progress towards compliance with the Aarhus Convention.
In response to the persistent lack of progress on access to justice, in 2022 we made a representation to Environmental Standards Scotland, Scotland’s environmental watchdog. ESS published two case updates, on 19 December 2022 and 27 September 2024, but have made no direct interventions.
We also made a complaint to the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee in March 2025 over the Scottish Civil Justice Council’s failure to publicly consult on its review of court rules, which breached Article 8 public participation requirements.
We are calling for legal reforms to improve access to justice in Scotland:
Blogs & news
Scottish Parliament debates the Aarhus Convention and access to environmental justice – the highlights
Read our highlights from last week’s Scottish Parliament debate on the Aarhus Convention and access to environmental justice …
Charities call the Scottish Government’s lack of progress on UN treaty an ‘abject failure’ to protect environmental rights – press release
Environmental charities including the RSPB and ERCS have called out the Scottish Government’s ‘abject failure’ to meet the access to justice requirements of the UN Aarhus Convention …
Environmental campaigners rally outside Court of Session as Scottish Government misses access to justice deadline – press release
Environmental and human rights campaigners today rallied outside the Court of Session to mark the Scottish Government missing a crucial deadline for compliance with the with the UN Aarhus Convention’s access to justice requirements …
Environmental Justice Rally
On 1 October, Scotland will fail to meet a deadline to ensure access to justice on the environment is affordable. Join us for a rally outside the Court of Session …
Scotland’s environmental watchdog needs a trip to the vet
Read ERCS’s report on our first 11 representations to Environmental Standards Scotland, and our legal director’s summary …
Scotland’s new protective expenses rules remain non-compliant with the Aarhus Convention
Read ERCS’s new briefing which evaluates the latest changes to Scotland’s Protective Expenses Order (PEO) rules, and asks why they still do not meet the Convention’s access to justice requirements …
Resources
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