Practice of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee

1. Practice of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee Andrew Andrusevych, Resource and Analysis Center “Society and Environment”

2. Overview Statistics of cases Interpretation of the Convention during proceedings Important cases of the interpretation of the procedure and the Convention

3. (1) Statistics of cases (2010) • Number of cases: • 50+1 • Kazakhstan (5) • Armenia (3) • Turkmenistan (1) • Ukraine (1) • Belarus (2) • Moldova (1) • Georgia (1) • Period of proceedings • Average – 389 days • Minimum – 278 days • Maximum – 568 days • Decisions in favor of complainants: • Kazakhstan – 3 (5) • Armenia – 2 (3) • Turkmenistan – 1 (1) • Ukraine - 1 (1) • Belarus – 1 • Moldova – 1(1)

4. (2) Interpretation of the Convention during the review of compliance • Interpretation and changing of consideration procedure • Interpretation of provisions of the Convention • It sets a precedent for the further Committee’s decision-making • It has recommendation power to apply the Convention by the countries • It does not mean legal interpretation of the treaty under the Vienna Convention of 1969

5. (3) Important cases of interpretation of the procedure and the Convention • Procedure • Criteria of admissibility • Documents disclosure procedure • Conflict of interests • Introducing of new restrictions for admissibility of communication • Appealing court decisions

6. (3) Important cases of interpretation of the procedure and the Convention • Appealing of the court decisions • Committee is not an appeal instance • Committee can provide an independent assessment of the facts related to all articles of the Convention • Disagreement with the court decision does not mean a possibility to address the Committee (9.3) • Rejection of admissibility is subject to article on access to justice (9) regardless of the dispute matter • Failure to execute the court decision – non-compliance with the Convention

7. (3) Important cases of interpretation of procedure and the Convention • Provisions of the Convention • Direct effect of the Convention in the national law does not mean that the country should not take measures to introduce new legislative measures

8. (3) Important cases of interpretation of the procedure and the Convention • Provisions of the Convention • Judicial system of the country is a part of the state and therefore a reference on its independence does not constitute a ground for non-compliance with the Convention

9. (3) Important cases of interpretation of the procedure and the Convention • Provisions of the Convention • Lengthy court procedure can lead to non-compliance with the Convention since access to justice must ensure efficient protection of rights

10. (3) Important cases of interpretation of the procedure and the Convention • Provisions of the Convention • Theoretical availability (provided by the legislation) of remedies when they are not available in practice is in non-compliance with the Convention

11. (3) Important cases of interpretation of the procedure and the Convention • Compendium of article-by-article interpretations collected in the Case Law of the Compliance Committee (2008 and 2011) • It be taken into account, in particular when assessing the facts by the courts (responsibility of the public authorities to take into account interpretation provided by the Committee)