The 16th meeting of the Task Force on Access to Justice under the Aarhus Convention was held in Geneva from February 18 to 19.
The agenda of the 16th meeting of the Task Force on Access to Justice under the Aarhus Convention focused on access to justice in cases related to chemicals and waste management, water quality, and noise pollution.
Marie Chakryan, Legal Advisor to the Ministry of Environment of the RA, National Coordinator of the Aarhus Convention, gave a speech on precedent decisions related to the water sector in Armenian judicial practice. She emphasized the importance of precedent decisions in ensuring the right to access to a fair trial. She also emphasized the importance of the existing electronic platforms in the justice sector in Armenia for ensuring access to information about the judicial system and court cases.
Marie Chakryan discussed the reforms in the water sector, particularly the new regulations on legal relations concerning water disposal and the amendments to the Water Code.
For example, in 2022, measures were taken to approximate legislation to European Union directives, including the adoption of the principle of achieving at least good ecological status for a water body. Amendments were made to the Code on Administrative Offenses of the RA, introducing stricter measures to protect water quality. Criminal liability is now also provided in cases of environmental damage amounting to AMD 500,000 or more.
Ruzanna Ghazaryan, Head of the Dalma-Sona Foundation and the representative of the public sector of Armenia as well as the European ECO forum attended the meeting. She discussed the problems in the waste sector.
The task force members shared their experiences in the sector, discussed the challenges they faced, and provided effective examples of how to overcome them.