J&E is represented by the Environmental Law Service (Ekologický právní servis, or EPS) in the Czech Republic. J&E CE Coordinator Nigel Robinson and Finance manager Jan Palašcák work at the EPS offices in Prague and Brno.

EPS was founded informally in 1995 and formally in 1997. EPS is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest law NGO that sees public interest law to mean the participation of lawyers in activities that contribute to the protection of the public interest and human rights. EPS works for free to defend the rights of citizens and the environment in the Czech Republic using the law and to influence pending legislation, the legal community, and law students in the direction of the public interest.

Currently EPS has 15 lawyers working in 4 litigational and one legislative programme. EPS regularly recruits and offers training to volunteers through legal clinics. The volunteers help us with our Advisory Centre, which handles about 800 enquiries annually. EPS is one of the largest public interest law organisations in Europe and acts as the coordination site for J&E in the CE region.

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 Oekoburo, 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�