Access of an Environmental Organisation to Court in Light of the EU Standard Set by the Principle of Effective Legal (Judicial) Protection

摘要

This article was prepared as part of a research project carried out under a contract concluded with the National Science Centre the aim of which was to determine the role of tribunals and courts in carrying out one of the primary tasks of the contemporary state - the protection of the environment. This article develops the results of the project and research in this matter. The aim of the study is to present the role of the CJEU in the harmonisation of the position of an environmental organisation in environmental matters - in particular, as regards its access to court, in light of the EU standard set by the principle of effective legal (judicial) protection. The article focuses on the contemporary role of the CJEU in promoting access to justice in environmental matters at the national level. The study analyses the three last important judgments of the CJEU (Case C-240/09, Lesoochrana rske zoskupenie VLK; Case C-243/15, Lesoochrana rske zoskupenie VLK and Case C-664/15, Protect), in which the Court strengthened the rights of environmental organisations - importantly, as regards access to court, too - as sui generis representatives of the protection of the environment as a common good.