CYIL Vol. 7, 2016

CYIL 7 ȍ2016Ȏ DO THE EUROPEANS HAVE THE RIGHT TO GET INFORMATION ABOUT… of the environmental impact assessment in a timely manner and has not conducted proper public consultations. The particularity of the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters lies in the fact that the Convention entrusts rights not only to the states but also to their citizens. The three main rights provided may be summarized as: the right to know, to participate, and to go to court. The first pillar – the right of the public to access the environmental information in the Aarhus Convention – includes both “passive access” (that is, the right to seek information from public authorities), and “active access” (the duty of the government to collect, disclose and disseminate information about the environment regardless of the requests of the public). The notion of ‘public’ has to be explained broadly, as including not only the citizens and NGOs of the state itself but also the citizens and organisations of other states. After analysis of the actions of Belarusian authorities, it can be stated that problems have risen regarding the translation of the documents which should be carried out properly by Belarus according to the ‘polluter pays’ principle. Furthermore, the numerous requests by Lithuania to provide information about the possible impact on the environment and the Neris river in particular and about the safety of the constructed nuclear power plant are left unanswered, therefore possibly infringing the right to information of Lithuania and its citizens.

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