< Back to previous page

Project

Access to environmental information held by the private sector under international, European and comparative law

The current paradigm for democracy and environmental justice rests heavily on the principles of transparency and public participation. Access to information is a precondition for the effective exercise of public participation mechanisms, and when it comes to environmental matters, one can hardly be conceived without the other. Regarding environmental data held by the private sector, companies are increasingly faced with demands for access to information which until quite recently was considered to fall under business (confidential) secrets and out of bounds for public access. Legal instruments such as the Aarhus Convention and overall transparency Directives and Regulations for access to documents of the EU institutions are increasingly being used to bring privately held data under public scrutiny. However, a consistent approach to the regulation of privately held environmental data needs further development. The research employs analysis under international, European and comparative law (Colombia, the United States and South America) to examine the tensions raised by the different interests at stake and analyse the need for new legislation providing wider access to the public, as well as pinpointing the best way to approach the issue to guard the principles of transparency and public participation without overlooking the protected interests of private actors to business confidentiality and intellectual property. 

Date:14 Oct 2014 →  25 Sep 2020
Keywords:Access to Information, Private Entities, Environmental Law
Disciplines:Law, Other law and legal studies
Project type:PhD project