Europe’s courts must stop barring citizens and non-governmental organisations (NGO) from challenging European Union decisions that affect the environment, a United Nations committee ruled last week.

No citizen or NGO has ever been granted standing in the EU courts to challenge decisions made by the European institutions on environmental grounds.

This has now changed following a UN Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee ruling that the EU – along with its member states – should be subject to the Aarhus Convention, which seeks to ensure access to justice in environmental cases by requiring full openness and accountability.

James Thornton, chief executive of environmental law group ClientEarth, which asked the UN committee to consider the case for EU compliance with the convention, said: ‘Promoting an open society and ensuring good governance are essential principles recognised in law by the EU institutions, but not fully realised in practice.

'The UN committee’s recommendations send a clear signal to the institutions that change is overdue.’

The ruling coincides with the opening of ClientEarth’s EU Aarhus Centre, which will offer citizen groups and NGOs legal advice on their rights to information, participation and justice in environmental matters.

In April 2011 the UK government was referred to the European Court of Justice for its continued failure to comply with the Aarhus Convention and provide an affordable procedure for mounting legal challenges to development plans that might damage the environment.