This important new monograph offers an innovative new analysis of the Aarhus Convention. Environmental law is dense with monolithic concepts, from environmental democracy to intergenerational justice, from sustainable development to stewardship. Each concept generates its own mythology about what environmental law should aspire to. Sometimes these ideas become so big that we lose hold of their meaning and therefore what we allude to when we describe environmental law in such terms. No more so is this true than in relation to the Aarhus Convention – an ambitious instrument of environmental law that promotes public participation and access to justice in relation to the environment. Since its inception it has been revered in glowing terms, and praised variously for its contribution to citizenship, environmental responsibility and democratic legitimacy. But how are we to know whether these descriptions are mere puffs or genuine statements about the Convention's character?
This book digs deep into the foundations of the Aarhus Convention, examining its ambitious potential through the lens of three foundational purposes – environmental rights, democracy and stewardship. In so doing, it contributes to our understanding both of the Convention and our understanding of three important purposes that inhabit environmental law, unravelling and reassembling them to build meaning into our broad-brush descriptions.
Table Of Contents
1. The Philosophical Scope of the Aarhus Convention
I. Introduction
II. Constructing the Convention
A. The Three Pillars
B. Unveiling the Foundations
III. Understanding the Aarhus Convention
A. Methodological Approach
B. Containing Complexity and Contestability
IV. Conclusion
2. The Three Purposes
I. Introduction
II. A Purpose-Driven Approach
III. The Ambition of Environmental Democracy
IV. The Ambiguity of Environmental Rights
V. The Air of Environmental Stewardship
VI. Conclusion
3. Environmental Democracy
I. Introduction
II. The Narrative of Democracy
A. Scrambling through the Thicket
B. Boundary Markers of Democracy
III. The Complexities of Environmental Decision-Making
IV. The Dimensions of Environmental Democracy
A. The Normative Dimensions of Environmental Democracy
B. The Structural Arrangements of Environmental Democracy
V. Conclusion
4. Environmental Rights
I. Introduction
II. Rights Territory
A. The Character of Rights
B. The Special Character of Human Rights
C. Conclusions
III. Environmental Ground
A. Environmental Rights as Substantive Human Rights
i. Historical Foundations
ii. Moral Framing
iii. Legal Development
iv. Conclusions
B. Procedural Environmental Rights
C. Rights of Future Generations
IV. Conclusion
5. Environmental Stewardship
I. Introduction
II. Environmental Stewardship, An Artist's Impression
III. Elements of Stewardship
A. Object of the Stewardship Duty
B. Beneficiaries of the Stewardship Duty
C. Holder of the Stewardship Duty
D. Nature of the Duty: Relationships and Values
i. Custodial Stewardship
ii. Managerial Stewardship
iii. Proprietorial Stewardship
iv. Spiritual Stewardship
IV. Conclusion
6. Interpretive Possibilities
I. Introduction
II. The Purposive Approach
III. Environmental Democracy in the Context of the Aarhus Convention
A. The Environmental Democracy Purpose of the Aarhus Convention
B. Interpretive Consequences of the Environmental Democracy Purpose
C. Conclusions
IV. Environmental Rights in the Context of the Aarhus Convention
A. The Environmental Rights Purpose of the Convention
i. Solution I: The Moral Right
ii. Solution II: The Emerging Legal Right
B. Interpretive Consequences of the Rights Purpose
C. Conclusions
V. Environmental Stewardship in the Context of the Aarhus Convention
A. The Environmental Stewardship Purpose of the Aarhus Convention
B. Interpretive Consequences of the Stewardship Purpose
C. Conclusions
VI. Conclusion
7. Conclusion
I. Introduction
II. Negative Capability
III. An Affair to Remember
