Environmental Democracy and Law. Public Participation in Europe

Environmental democracy has several roots and reasons, also theoretical foundations, which must be taken as a starting point of research. One interpretation of environmental democracy could be that it is a visualisation of the procedural rights, one of the best options to make environmental rights vital.

Usually we take public participation as a synonym of environmental democracy, thus the classical three pillars are also discussed – access to information, participation in decision-making and access to justice – mostly from a European and primarily EU perspective, but the book also has a substantial outlook on international law.

Concepts, theories and environmental rights may be valued through their implementation potential, and this forms the largest part of the book: how public participation is implemented in Europe – via the Aarhus Convention, within EU law and practice, and in national law. On the one hand, there are several surveys, partly thematic (GMO, waste), partly pragmatic (e.g. litigation) from Europe, while on the other hand there are country examples, such as Ireland, but there is a special focus on Hungary – as the given Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence project, the sponsor of the book, has its centre there.

Beside special practical examples and even sociological surveys, there is now a unique legal instrument in Hungary which is introduced – that is the ombudsman (now deputy ombudsman) of future generations, the history, concept and practice of which is discussed in details with many examples. Most of the authors are recognised experts of environmental law and public participation in Europe.