Specialist Environmental Courts in England and Wales?

United Kingdom

The results from a Government-commissioned research project into the need for setting up specialist environmental courts in England and Wales have been published.

The report, "Environmental Court Project: Final Report" concludes that a specialist environmental court should be set up in order that the UK may fully implement the requirements of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Justice in Environmental Matters and the European Convention on Human Rights. A specialist court could offer faster, more efficient decision-making, with lower litigation costs for all parties. A two-tiered system with a tribunal that would take over from the existing planning inspectorate and a higher court of appeal is recommended.

The report is available from the DETR Publications Sales Centre, priced GBP48, telephone 01709 891318.

For further information please contact Verity Kidd at [email protected] or on +44 (0) 20 7367 3182.