The Environmental Law Service (ELS) is a non-profit, non-governmental and non-political organisation of lawyers. We provide gratuitous legal counselling and deal with selected cases with an extensive social impact. Our aim is to contribute to a more efficient enforcement of the rights of citizens, adherence to regulations on environmental protection and human rights, more transparent public administration and higher responsibility of multinational corporations.

ELS was founded in 1995. Since then we have grown to be the biggest law watchdog organisation in the Czech Republic.

http://eps.cz/en-us/

J&E Czech republic in 2009

Within the project Life+ in 2009, the organization Justice and Environment cooperated in the Czech Republic with the Environmental Law Service.

The lawyers of J&E, in cooperation with the ELS, have worked on many successful projects that include, among others, the following:

National Activities Czech Republic: Human Health (Air Pollution and Noise)

A group of citizens from Olomouc, supported by the team of J&E lawyers in cooperation with the ELS, succeeded in court against the state as the owner of a road causing above-limit noise. The court decision – that the state is obligated to decrease the noise to legally stipulated limits within a year – has been only the second judicial decision of its type and the first directed against the state as a prosecuted party ever, which shows that protection against noise may be achieved through the legal procedure initiated by individual citizens.

National activities Czech Republic: Climate

Another project was that of a direct litigation of the modernization of the Prunerov II power plant. This power plant is the biggest source of carbon dioxide emissions in the Czech Republic and the investor aims to carry out a project that is not in compliance with the energy efficiency requirements for large combustion installations. JaE Czech Republic participated in the EIA proceedings. Some of our legal opinions were initially supported by the Ministry of the Environment and there has been a lot of media coverage, both Czech and international. The case, however, is expected to come to a conclusion only during the first half of 2010.

Read more: http://eps.cz/cz2213429pr/pripady/

National Activity: Horizontal and cross-cutting issues

J&E lawyer with the support of ELS continued his effort to enforce a responsible planning of the R52 speed road, specifically its Brno – Vienna part. The current evaluation of the impacts of the R52 construction does not include evaluation of alternatives according to European standards. Consequently, the team of ELS and J&E lawyers took the case against Spatial Development Policy to the Supreme Administrative Court at the end of 2009. Thanks to this, the road was excluded from the Transportation Operation Program financial plan. The reason is apparently that the investor realized it would be unlikely to receive funding for a construction prepared in conflict with European Directives. Behind this change is – as we are convinced – the pressure of NGOs including ELS, Hnuti Duha/ FoE, Bankwatch, J&E and others.

Read more: http://eps.cz/cz2054582pr/pripady/

National Activities Czech Republic: Capacity building

Apart from the legal cases, the J&E lawyer togehter with the ELS cooperated with young lawyers and students of law, volunteers, whose main activity was to help run ELS Consultation Centre – deal with and answer queries in the area of environment protection and administrative law but also to help to update and create new materials – analyses, forms, FAQ, helped in our strategic cases, etc. Work with volunteers is very valued – they help us to make our work more effective and at the same time the students get practical experience.

J&E Czech republic in previous years

In 2006, EPS continued in extensive litigation activities in fields of environmental and other public interests protection, with increasing usage of EC law and Aarhus convention.

EPS succeeded with a complaint to the Czech Supreme Administrative Court on the planned extension of Prague Airport. The court said that Aarhus Convention is directly applicable in the Czech legal system. This means that people and NGOs can use rights given by Aarhus in administrative and judicial procedures. The decision also allows judicial review of land use plans in the Czech Republic.

In cases dealing with EIA procedures on planned traffic investments – R52 speedway (Brno – Vienna and extension of the D1 highway) we have to date not enforced the interpretation that the final EIA opinion must be, according to the EIA directive and Aarhus convention, subject to judicial review . Both these cases are pending at Supreme Administrative Court. In the meantime, we have filed another lawsuit against controversial EIA opinions (for Hyundai Motor Company car plant at Nosovice in Beskydy mountains and Nokian Tyres tire plant in Valasske Mezirici). The European Commission, also using information provided by EPS, issued a press release stating that Czech EIA rules unduly restrict the public’s right to go to court to uphold their entitlement to participate in EIA.

We are developing our cooperation within J&E, especially with Okoburo, and with other international partners on the field of EIA and SEA procedures on investments with transboundary aspects (subject to Espoo convention).

In close cooperation with Bankwatch we sent a letter to EIB President Mr. Philippe Maystadt, concerning planned D1 motorway construction project in the Czech Republic (the request also includes another transport infrastructure investments – namely R 43 and R 52 high speed roads). The Czech government requested a loan from the EIB for these projects. All the projects have controversial aspects, in respect to environmental and health protection and conflicts with EC law in related legal procedures. The current traffic on the D1 motorway, which connects Prague and Brno, already exceeds the limits for noise and the emission of air pollutants (micro-particles) in some areas. Such particles are extremely hazardous to health.

In February 2006, the Danone company issued a public apology for using the “BIOâ€? mark on its products (yogurts) that were not made using produce of environment-friendly (‘bio’) farming. This was EPS’ longest lasting court case, having begun in 1999. The EPS contested Danone’s unfair practices on behalf of consumer protection organizations. It is a precedential case: the courts ruled for the first time that consumer groups can use breach of “fair competitionâ€? rules in court.

EPS organized a two-day seminar for NGOs concentrated on the new Administrative Procedure Code, which came into force on January 1, 2006. This is the basis for public participation in environmental decision making procedures, and it is essential that the NGO ‘users’ of this law become familair with it.

More information can be found in EPS Law Against Lawlessness