Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice

Statue of Justice, Dublin Castle

Statue of Justice which can be seen on the north side of the Great Courtyard at Dublin Castle. The statue caused much controversy whe it was first erected as "Justice" has her back to the city.

© The Irish Times

Statue of Justice, Dublin Castle
© The Irish Times

Statue of Justice, Dublin Castle

Statue of Justice which can be seen on the north side of the Great Courtyard at Dublin Castle. The statue caused much controversy whe it was first erected as "Justice" has her back to the city.

© The Irish Times

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Truly sustainable development demands that the public participate in environmental decision-making.  This need was recognised when world governments met at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 and was later strengthened by the Aarhus Convention in 1998.

The Aarhus convention states that  

• every person has the right to live in an environment adequate to his or her health and well-being and

• every person has the duty, both individually and in association with others, to protect and improve the environment for the benefit of present and future generations.

It requires governments to allow citizens access to information on the environment, opportunities to participate in decision making and policy development that could affect their environment and finally to allow citizens to seek remedy in the courts if the environment is not properly integrated into the final decision.

While there are some good initiatives to be found it is generally considered that Ireland still has a considerable distance to go to fully implement the Aarhus convention here.

It is hoped that this essay on the environment will, in some small way, encourage people to inform themselves of their rights of participation in decision making and allow them to play their part in how the country will be developed into the future.

Truly sustainable development demands that the public participate in environmental decision-making.  This need was recognised when world governments met at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 and was later strengthened by the Aarhus Convention in 1998.