A new ERCS briefing discusses the importance of amending Regulation 15 of the Civil Legal Aid (Scotland) Regulations 2002 to enable public interest environmental litigation and increase access to environmental justice.
The briefing summarises evidence supplied by ERCS legal director Ben Christman to the Scottish Parliament’s Equalities, Human Rights, and Civil Justice Committee in November 2024, which highlights how the ‘joint interest test’ specified under Regulation 15 of the Civil Legal Aid Regulations 2002 makes it difficult to obtain legal aid for environmental cases.
ERCS recommends that Regulation 15 is amended so that it does not apply to cases falling within the scope of the Aarhus Convention.
