Here is below an article reporting the outcomes of NTW organisation Laka’s actions towards more compliance to criteria of the Aarhus Convention namely “access to information” and “access to justice”. It also relates directly to the BEPPER report and the “access to funding”.
“After a decision of the Council of State yesterday, it is finally possible for small environmental organizations to receive legal assistance with complicated Wob requests (woo) concerning environmental information.
Laka had requested legal assistance in 2019 in the processing of its Wob application concerning the investigation of the final disposal of COVRA. The request for legal aid was rejected by the Legal Aid Commission.
This rejection was also confirmed by the Amsterdam court last year. But now, on appeal, it was overturned by the Council of State. Laka, without a lawyer, had argued before the Supreme Administrative Court that access to environmental information “is one of the three pillars of the Aarhus Convention”. The Council of State agreed and considered that small environmental organizations could not be expected to fund legal aid themselves. The Legal Aid Board had already indicated in the corridors that it was open to a different interpretation of the rules of an environmental addition.
You can read the decision of the Council of State here.”
Laka Foundation
22 décembre 2022