Croatia news

Periodical "The Law in Economy", published by the Croatian Association of Business Lawyers, in issue 6/2011 published an article by Lana Srkoc, lawyer from Zagreb, regarding the conference held on 9 June 2011 as part of the project "Enforcement of the Aarhus Convention in the Adriatic Region Countries" in which she participated since its beginning.
The contents of the mentioned issue (in English language), as well Ms Srkoc's article (in Croatian language), can be found in the attachments below.

On April 7th 2009, Green Istria, in co-operation with Green Action, has filed a complaint to the Administrative Court of the Republic of Croatia against the Decision of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Physical Planning and Construction (MEPPPC) regarding the environmemental acceptability of the Brkac golf course development project, alongside the accompanying accommodation facilities. The Administrative Court has accepted the lawsuit as justified and, on July 21st 2011, has overthrown the stated Decision of the MEPPPC.

At the fourth session of the Meeting of the 44 Parties of the Aarhus Convention held in Chisinau in Moldova (Jun 29 – Jul 1, 2011) participants discussed about current implementation situation and progress made in the enforcement of the Convention, as well as about future perspectives. This was an opportunity to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters.

''The Aarhus Convention, as every other international legal instrument, lives through its usage. For it to become a tool of democratic society, citizens must use the Aarhus Convention to ensure access to information and public participation.’’ – with these lines Irena Pereša, project manager, opened the ‘’Enforcement of the Aarhus Convention in the Adriatic Region Countries’’ international conference.

The magazine published by the Croatian Bar Association, "The Lawyer", published an article by Lana Srkoč, a lawyer from Zagreb, regarding the project "Enforcement of the Aarhus Convention in the Adriatic Region Countries, in which she participated since its beginning.

Here is the link to the magazine (website of the Croatian Bar Association): http://www.hok-cba.hr/fgs.axd?id=441

International conference"Enforcement of the Aarhus Convention in the Adriatic Region Countries", which will be held on June 9th, 2011 in Hotel Westin in Zagreb, is the closing of a large project on the implementation of the Aarhus Convention, which is being implemented since the beginning of 2010 by GONG and Green Istria, in collaboration with six European and regional partners.

As a part of the educational program of the project, the participating journalists from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro had the assignement to cover the imaginary case (citizens of the Republic of Mediterania against the goverment, regarding the factory Multikem) and simulation of the trial in front of European courts (ECJ and ECHR) and, based on that topic, record tv/radio shows or write articles for newspapers.

The educational programme conducted within the „Enforcement of the Aarhus Convention in the Adriatic Region Countries” project had its grand finale, the third and last seminar was held in hotel “Bristol” (Opatija, Croatia) on February 24-27, 2011. Participants engaged in dynamic trial simulations, after a team preparation that lasted longer than three months. Journalists participating in the programme have prepared related media coverage materials that were showcased alongside the trials.

The second seminar of the EU funded project "Implementation of the Aarhus convention in the Adriatic region countries" was held from November 4-7, 2010 in hotel Park in Rovinj, Croatia.

The „Enforcement of the Aarhus Convention in the Adriatic Region Countries“ project started its educational programme.

The first seminar took place place in charming Vrsar, a town on the western coast of the region of Istria, in Croatia, from Sep 17-19, 2010.

The Embassy of Finland to the Republic of Croatia has granted a financial support to the project "Implementation of the Aarhus Convention in the Adriatic Region Countries". A project partner Green Istria has applied for the matching funds from the Embassy's Fund for Local Cooperation, considering that the project goals correspond to the goal of the Finnish development effort in the field of democracy, environment and strengthening civil society.

International Call for applications for judges, lawyers and journalists from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro wishing to participate

Presentation of the international project "Enforcement of the Aarhus Convention in the Adriatic Region Countries" and the international Call for applications for judges, lawyers and journalists from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro wishing to participate to its specialized educational programme.

Kick Off Meeting took place on 25th of March 2010. in Bruxelless. Conference to present project objectives.

The first meeting of representatives of all partner organizations gathered around the "Enforcement of the Aarhus Convention in the Adriatic Region Countries" took place in Zagreb, Croatia, from Feb 18 to Feb 19, 2010.

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