The norms of the Aarhus convention in terms of combining the right to a healthy environment and the duty to protect it

By ratifying the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) Ukraine has committed itself to a change of established practices regarding the provision of environmental information and the right of the public to appeal to the court with claims for environmental protection. The implementation of the norms of this Convention has become quite problematic, not least due to the insufficient level of environmental awareness of Ukrainian society. However, positive changes in this area are still taking place, not least due to the active work of various public environmental organizations. It seems that the scientific study of the norms of the Aarhus Convention will also to some extent contribute to the progress of our state and society in the field of environmental protection. We consider it necessary to enshrine the "automatic" recognition of legal interest (i.e. the right to sue in matters relating to environmental protection) for any non-governmental environmental organization registered and operating in accordance with Ukrainian law. This will meet the requirements of Part 4 of Art. 3 of the Aarhus Convention, according to which our state ensures "proper recognition of associations, organizations or groups that contribute to the protection of the environment, and provides them with appropriate support and ensures compliance of its national legal system with this obligation" Among the trends that can be considered extremely positive is the recent legal conclusion of the Supreme Court in the case of banning the dolphinarium. In this case, the Supreme Court stressed that "the right to protection of the violated constitutional right to a safe environment belongs to everyone and can be exercised both personally and with the participation of a public representative". Given the binding nature of the Supreme Court's legal conclusions, we hope that this case will be a significant milestone in bringing domestic legislation and the practice of its application to the requirements of the Aarhus Convention.