Environmental Law in
Advocacy Campaigning
dr. Csaba Kiss
EMLA
Justice & Environment
24-26 September 2013
Palic, Serbia
What is environmental law?
• Environmental law is a collective term
describing international treaties
(conventions), statutes, regulations, and
common law or national legislation (where
applicable) that operates to regulate the
interaction of humanity and the natural
environment, towards the purpose of
reducing the impacts of human activity.
(wikipedia)
What is environmental law?
•
(g) "environmental law" means Community legislation and legislation
adopted to implement Community legislation which have as their
objective the protection or the improvement of the environment, including
human health and the protection or the rational use of natural resources,
in areas such as:
• i) water protection
• ii) noise protection
• iii) soil protection
• iv) atmospheric pollution
• v) town and country planning and land use
• vi) nature conservation and biological diversity
• vii) waste management
• viii) chemicals including biocides and pesticides
• ix) biotechnology
• x) other emissions, discharges and releases in the environment.
• xi) environmental impact assessment
• xii) access to environmental information and public participation in
decision-making.
(Art. 2.1.g of the Access to Justice Directive Draft 2003)
What is advocacy?
• Advocacy is a political process by an
individual or group which aims to influence
public-policy and resource allocation
decisions within political, economic, and
social systems and institutions.
(wikipedia)
What is advocacy?
• Outreach
Preparation of an output and presentation
of the output to recipients.
• Lobbying
Exercising influence on policy-makers
and/or decision-makers.
• Advocacy
Gathering support (critical mass) for
exercising support on policy-makers
and/or decision-makers.
Effective advocacy?
• Capacities
• Eight capacities for effective advocacy:
organizational characteristics, leadership, board
leadership, adaptability, management,
networks, technical skills, and organization
culture
• Strategies
• Four strategies for effective advocacy:
community and grassroots organizing, coalition
building, public education, and legislative
advocacy
(Morariu – Brennan: Effective Advocacy Evaluation)
Suggestions from a lawyer
• Capacities
• Organizational characteristics: affection to legal
issues
• Leadership: lawyer in decision-making
• Board leadership: lawyer in leading position
• Adaptability: reaction to legal developments
• Management: lawyer on the staff
• Networks: membership of or contact to legal
networks
• Technical skills: monitoring of legal
developments
• Organization culture: ability to manage legal
issues
Suggestions from a lawyer
• Strategies
• Community and grassroots organizing:
ability to communicate legal message
(translate to real life examples) and
inspire people
• Coalition building: networking with legal
NGOs
• Public education: raise public
awareness/capacities to understand
legal issues
• Legislative advocacy: reactive and
proactive
National organizations and
networks
§ Association for Environmental Justice (AJA, Spain)
§ Bankwatch Association Romania (BWA, Romania)
§ Environmental Action Alliance - Ireland (EAA-I, Ireland)
§ Environmental Law Service (EPS, Czech Republic)
§ Environmental Management and Law Association (EMLA, Hungary)
§ Estonian Environmental Law Center (EELC, Estonia)
§ Front 21/42 (FYR Macedonia)
§ Independent Institute for Environmental Issues (UfU, Germany)
§ International Institute for Law and the Environment (IIDMA, Spain)
§ ÖKOBÜRO (ÖB, Austria)
§ Legal Information Centre (PIC, Slovenia)
§ VIA IURIS (VI, Slovakia)
§ Zelena Akcija (ZA, Croatia)
=
§ Justice and Environment
Example 1: EIA Directive
• Letter to EC by EEB, FOE, GP and J&E on
what we expect from a revised EIA
Directive 2010
• Case studies and EIA seminar (Romania)
2011
• EIA meeting (Brussels) 2012
• EIA position paper 2012
• Letters to members of the EP ENVI
Committee, to MEPs, to rapporteur on the
EP 2013
Example 2: A2J Directive
• Impacts of an A2J Directive on a few MS 2007
• Impact assessment of an A2J Directive in a
number of MS 2012
• Analytical study on access to justice 2012
• Participation at EC Expert Group Meetings
2012
• Communication with the EC 2009-2012
• Green Week satellite event (Brussels) 2013
• Online consultation by J&E members on the
A2J Directive 2013
• Positon paper to EC on the consultation by
EEB and J&E 2013
Thank you and good luck
in environmental legal campaigning!