Pravni položaj udruga u postupcima zaštite okoliša u Republici Hrvatskoj
The Legal Position Of Associations In Environmental Protection Procedures In The Republic Of Croatia

Summary/Abstract: Non-governmental organisation for environmental protection can significantly improve the implementation of environmental law. Their important role in environmental protection is recognised by the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters adopted in Aarhus in 1998 (the Aarhus Convention). The Aarhus Convention came into force in the Republic of Croatia on June 25, 2007 upon the adoption of the Environmental Protection Act as the main act for implementing the Convention into the Croatian legislation. The Aarhus Convention guarantees the procedural environmental rights (access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice). The two acts which are particularly important for the implementation of the Convention in the Croatian legal system are the General Administrative Procedure Act and the Administrative Disputes Act. In this paper, the author analyses the manifold legal status of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in environmental protection proceedings. First, an NGO may have the status of a party whose rights, obligations or legal interests are being decided upon in the administrative procedure (for instance, an administrative proceeding on exercising the right of an NGO to access environmental information). Second, an NGO which is active in the field of environmental protection and meets all the requirements in accordance with the Environmental Protection Act shall be deemed to be a concerned party and shall, therefore, have the right to participate in environmental protection proceedings in which the Act provides for the general public and/or concerned public participation (e. g. environmental impact assessment procedure). Third, an NGO may have a procedural legitimacy to pursue a review and protection in the field of administrative law in case some other action of a public authority has violated certain right, obligation or legal interest of an NGO (for instance, depriving an NGO of the right to participate in the process of preparing the waste management plan). Forth, an NGO may submit information (a notice) to a relevant authority pointing to the need to initiate an administrative proceeding ex officio in order to protect the public interest (e. g. a notice to the inspection authorities about environmental pollution). Although the subject matter of this proceeding does not involve the NGO’s right, obligation or legal interest (in which case it would be regarded as a disputing party), the General Administrative Procedure Act makes provisions for the legal protection in case when a public authority has issued an information that the motion to initiate an administrative proceeding has been denied, as well as in case when a public authority has failed to respond to the motion within the time limit.

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