The Aarhus Convention and the Latent Right to a Healthy Environment

Abstract

The Aarhus Convention is an ambitious environmental agreement that recognises the right to a healthy environment in its opening article. However, the ambiguous language surrounding this right gives the impression that it is ornamentation and not something requiring serious legal attention. At the same time, the procedural environmental rights which are the centrepiece of the Convention are being eroded, either by design on the part of Contracting Parties or because of a broader malaise about the value of public participation in environmental decision-making. This contribution suggests that closer attention to the legal significance of the substantive right contained in the Convention can help to reinvigorate the procedural Aarhus rights. In so doing, it draws attention to the radical vision of the Aarhus Convention to protect the right of present and future generations to live in an environment adequate to human health and well-being.