PThe Aarhus Convention was ratified by Spain in December 2004. This study, prepared by Fe Sanchis-Moreno, Asociacion para la Justicia Ambiental, examines implementation of the Aarhus Convention's third pillar on access to justice in Spain. Law 27/2006 of July 18, regulating the rights of access to environmental information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters, created a legal framework for the application of these rights. This law’s provisions aim on one hand to meet the obligations arising from the Aarhus Convention, and on the other, to transpose two EU directives, Directive 2003/4/EC of 28 January 2003 on public access to environmental information, and Directive 2003/35/EC of 26 May 2003 providing for public participation in respect of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to the environment.
