Aarhus Convention
We are advocating for Scotland to fulfil its legal obligations under the UNECE 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 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 six 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 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 has published two case updates, on 19 December 2022 and 27 September 2024, but has made no direct interventions.
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.
In 2025 ERCS also made a complaint to the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee over the Scottish Civil Justice Council (SCJC)’s failure to publicly consult on its review of court rules, which breached Article 8 public participation requirements.
In January 2026, the SCJC subsequently announced that it would publicly consult on proposals for new court rules that would extend cost protection for environmental cases.
Read our comments on the UK’s final progress report and our summary of Scotland’s progress towards compliance with the Convention, which sets out the next steps to guarantee full access to environmental justice.
We are calling for legal reforms to improve access to justice in Scotland:
Blogs & news
Progress on access to environmental justice and next steps
Read our briefing summarising Scotland’s progress towards addressing its breach of the Aarhus Convention’s access to justice requirements, and the reforms needed in this parliamentary session to guarantee full access to environmental justice …
Scotland’s breach of public participation requirements – case update
In March 2025, ERCS submitted a complaint to the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee on the Scottish Civil Justice Council’s failure to publicly consult on proposed changes to rules …
Scottish elections 2026: where do the parties stand on environmental rights?
With only a week to go before the next Scottish Parliament election, what commitments have each party made on environmental rights and access to justice? …
Proposed changes to court rules signal major step towards affordable access to justice
ERCS welcomes positive proposals to address the cost of environmental litigation after years of inaction from public authorities …
UN body finds that Scotland fails to guarantee access to environmental justice – press release
The Scottish Government has failed to implement recommendations to guarantee access to justice to uphold environmental rights, according to a new UN report …
Advocacy Manifesto sets out route map to secure environmental rights
ERCS today launches our new Advocacy Manifesto, setting out a route map of how every person’s right to live in a healthy environment can be respected, protected, and fulfilled …
Resources
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