A Scottish Environment Court would reduce costs, develop expertise, increase accessibility, effectiveness and efficiency to achieve better outcomes for people and the environment.
This summer, the Scottish Government is required 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’.
The consultation creates an important opportunity for reassessing how environmental disputes are dealt with in Scotland and how to make it easier to uphold our right to a healthy environment.
ERCS commissioned Professor Campbell Gemmell to review developments pre and post Brexit and you can read his report on the clear and urgent case for a Scottish Environment Court. We hope the report will inform the consultation which reinforces the arguments made in ERCS’s 2021 report on why Scotland needs an environmental court or tribunal .
Blogs & news
New briefing highlights need for a Scottish Environment Court
Today we are publishing a new briefing summarising arguments for a Scottish Environment Court, in anticipation of the Scottish Government’s consultation on access to justice …
Report launch: The clear and urgent case for a Scottish Environment Court
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 …
What changes could help Scotland comply with international human rights and environmental law? Part 2
Part one of our two-part blog series summarised the prohibitive costs of judicial review. In this second part, Lloyd Austin – ERCS’s Chair, outlines how establishing an environmental court would be a better way to resolve disputes than using the difficult path of judicial review …
Press release: Environmental Court Report published
Our report published today calls for the creation of a new one-stop-shop environmental court for Scotland …
