Anthony Jones appeared on 6 September 2018 before the EU General Court in Luxembourg as sole counsel for the international environmental NGO, ClientEarth, in a ground-breaking challenge to the European Commission’s decision to approve waste recycling processes which involve the toxic chemical DEHP.
Key issues in the case, T-108/17 ClientEarth v Commission and European Chemicals Agency, include the standing of NGOs before the EU Courts, and the compliance of the mechanisms for internal review of EU environmental decision-making with the provisions of the UN Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making, and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (to which the EU is a party).
This ground-breaking challenge is a rare example of the EU Courts being asked to deal with the interaction between public international law, the EU legal system, and the EU’s own treaty obligations. Judgment has been reserved, and is expected before the end of 2018.
Chambers is a growing force in the field of public international law, with members recently acting in a range of international courts and arbitral tribunals in claims involving international organizations, in inter-State disputes, and investor-State claims. For further details of this area of Chambers’ work, please click here.
