| EC takes UK to court on access to justice rules |
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7 April 2011 | Press release On 6 April 2011 the European Commission referred the UK government to the European Court of Justice. The Commission considers access to justice in environmental cases in the UK to be prohibitively expensive, in breach of EU law. James Thornton, CEO ClientEarth, says: "Today's announcement from the European Commission comes after ClientEarth’s successful action against the UK in August 2010, in which the UN Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee found numerous breaches of the Aarhus Convention in the UK's access to justice rules. "The European Commission has finally had enough and is taking the UK to the Court of Justice for its failure to comply with the Aarhus Convention. This is a significant and welcome step: the UK's review of its rules and subsequent proposed rule changes are woefully inadequate to address the issue of prohibitively expensive environmental court proceedings in the UK." Ends For a detailed explanation of why the UK's proposed rule changes continues to breach the Aarhus Convention, this link Media contact Mike Haines | Communications officer | ClientEarth t. +44 (0) 207 749 5978 | m. +44 (0) 7841 918 770 | e. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ClientEarth ClientEarth is an environmental law organisation working in the public interest. Based in Europe and operating globally, we address issues including deforestation, energy efficiency, biodiversity protection, and the transparency and enforcement of environmental law. www.clientearth.org
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