Pulling the trigger : ENGO standing rights and the enforcement of environmental obligations in EU law

This chapter discusses the relationship between the Aarhus Convention and EU law concerning access to justice in environmental decision-making. Focus lies on environmental rights from a procedural perspective and more precisely on the legal requirements for the public concerned to have access to justice in environmental decision-making. I will use standing for environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGOs) in cases concerning nature conservation and species protection as an illustrative example. This area of law is particularly interesting, as it contains clear obligations according to international law and EU law, while at the same time, the responsibility to implement those obligations in many Member States lies exclusively on the competent authorities and the public cannot challenge the administrative decision-making in court. In my analysis, I will discuss the relationship between the Aarhus Convention and the principle of judicial protection enshrined in EU law. My conclusions suggest that the principle of judicial protection goes beyond the Convention in requiring that members of the public – often represented by the ENGOs – shall be able to challenge administrative decisions and omissions made in this area of law by having the possibility to take legal action in court