Litigation Costs and the Aarhus Convention

The cost associated with UK environmental litigation is a hot topic at the moment. A recent case has added to the debate.

On 24 February 2005, the UK ratified the UNECE Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters.

One of the fundamental principles of the Convention is that the cost of obtaining justice in relation to environmental matters should not be prohibitively expensive.

The UK Government is coming under pressure from a number of sources at the moment to be Aarhus compliant, including pressure from the UK courts, international pressure from the Aarhus Compliance Committee and the European Commission, and domestic pressure from Lord Justice Jackson's "Review of Civil Litigation Costs".