Participation Rights: From Aarhus to Escazú

Abstract

International treaties guaranteeing participation rights are scarce. In 1998, the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) became the first regional agreement on participation rights. Two decades later, in 2018, another regional agreement on participation rights, the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (Escazú Agreement) was adopted.This thesis aims to analyse and discuss participation rights and compare the Aarhus Convention and the Escazú Agreement and how they guarantee such rights. To do that, the thesis employs a descriptive method, as well as the analytical and comparative methods.The comparison between the Escazú Agreement and the Aarhus Convention is presented by highlighting similarities and differences in the scope of equivalent provisions, as well as by demonstrating the novelties introduced by the Escazú Agreement.Despite the similarities in the way that these two regional agreements guarantee the main rights of participation, known as their pillars, there are some important differences and novelties highlighted in the thesis, as a result of the diverse circumstances in the regions where these agreements were adopted.