국제법상 환경정보공개제도 - 알후스협약(Aarhus Convention)과 2003년 EU지침을 중심으로 -

Abstract

The goal of environmental law is to make people living safe through the solving environmental problems. In recent industrialized society, the most important element to settle environmental matters is to provide the rights on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice. The Aarhus Convention, also Directive 2003/4/EC, shows a developing legal scheme to achieve environmental democracy to provide the rights on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice to remove environmental problems. Moreover, in Art. 2 (3) (c) provides that the state of human health and safety, conditions of human life, cultural sites and built structures, in as much as they are or may be affected by the state of the elements of the environment or, through these elements, by the factors, activities or measures referred to in subparagraph (b) above. This means that the environmental information should include fundamental conditions of human life being. This Convention is a regional one, open to participation by members or consultative members of the UN Economic Commission fo Europe. Since this includes North America and the former Soviet states of Central Asia it is in effect a Northern hemisphere agreement. And it recognizes the relationship between environmental protection and basic human rights, including the right to life.