Scotland has been repeatedly found in breach of Article 9 of the UN Aarhus Convention, which enshrines legal rights for citizens to access justice on environmental issues in a court of law.

In 2021, the Convention’s governing bodies issued Scotland a deadline to end over a decade of non-compliance by 1 October 2024, and ensure that access to justice is ‘fair, timely, equitable, and not prohibitively expensive’.

However, a new briefing from ERCS details how the Scottish government’s lack of action is still stalling reforms required by the UN. Meanwhile, the Scottish Civil Justice Council has kept its review of legal expenses behind closed doors after reneging on their duty to publicly consult on them.

Maggie Chapman MSP has now tabled a parliamentary motion calling on the Scottish government to redouble efforts to ensure full compliance with the Convention.

ERCS’s in-house solicitor Ben Christman said: “Despite widespread concern over the climate and nature emergencies, going to court to defend the environment is unaffordable for most people. Legal expenses can amount to tens of thousands of pounds – even six figures is not unheard of.

“Our current system only supports the rule of law for a wealthy minority, and exorbitant legal costs shield public bodies and polluters from being held to account. Many people we have given legal advice to have had cases with merit but have been priced out of the legal system.

“The Scottish government is doing next to nothing to change this dismal state of affairs. It is failing to meet its obligations under the UN Aarhus Convention, and with less than five months to go before a crucial deadline to remove the barriers to accessing justice, little progress has been made.

“The government must take urgent action to make our legal system affordable, and ensure environmental justice is available to all.”