Over 100 participants, including representatives from government agencies, environmental NGOs, judiciary, academia and other legal professions, attended the first meeting of the task force on access to justice, which took place from 10-11 March 2003 in Brussels, Belgium.

Established under the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention), the task force meeting: examined good practices and identified further activities to support the Convention’s implementation; assessed the impact of the costs of and delay in access to justice on its effectiveness and the needs of various stakeholders; and shared experience with access to justice in relation to relevant articles of the Convention. More information on this meeting is available online at: http://www.unece.org/env/pp/a.to.j.htm