Private Sector Environmental Information and the Law - Juliana Zuluaga Madrid

Private Sector Environmental Information and the Law

Buch | Softcover
288 Seiten
2024
Routledge (Verlag)
978-1-032-31014-5 (ISBN)
49,85 inkl. MwSt
Current advancements in civil rights and environmental activism emphasize the crucial importance of making environmental information widely available to the public, regardless of whether it is in the hands of the government or of corporations.
Current advancements in civil rights and environmental activism emphasize the crucial importance of making environmental information widely available to the public, regardless of whether it is in the hands of the government or of corporations, especially when the information is needed to understand and prevent risks for human health and the environment. In the wake of a resurgence of environmental and civil rights activism, conflicts flare between the right of the people to know and the right of private actors to keep certain information hidden, mostly for commercial reasons. This book offers a detailed comparative analysis of how environmental information is being accessed in different countries and jurisdictions, and how these issues are currently being handled by judges and governments. Focusing on the right of access to environmental information held and produced by private actors and the legal issues that emerge when other values and rights are compromised, this book offers an alternative framework to improve on current legal systems, suggesting a more nuanced and balanced approach that takes both set of interests duly into consideration. Providing an integrated approach to public environmental law and private commercial law, the book integrates the arguments from both sides to establish a common ground, defining shared principles and models that provide a solid basis for a robust new system. Reviewing access to private sector information at a truly international level, this book will be relevant to students, academics and practitioners working in these areas.

Juliana Zuluaga-Madrid holds a PhD in Law and an LLM in Energy and Environmental Law. She has worked for companies in the mining sector, Oil & Gas and is currently Legal Director at INGEMA S.A, a company in the energy sector. She combines her legal practice with academic engagements as lecturer and research advisor for Universidad del Rosario (Bogotá).

Acknowledgements

List of acronyms and abbreviations






Introduction





Why now?



Background and scope



Normative Framework




Preliminary Notions of the Right to Know and the Private Sector





Legal and Historical Precedents of Access to Environmental Information





Transition to democratic state models



The transparency trend



‘Information governance’ and environmental reform



The evolution of human rights theory




Fundamental notions of Private Entities





Public v Private



Definition of Private Entities



Public and Private Information



The protection of business confidentiality




The Aarhus Convention: Fundamental concepts and contribution





Environmental Participation under Aarhus



Contribution and innovative features






Characterisation of the Right to Access Environmental Information





Recognition of the right to information as a human right





The Right to Access Environmental Information in International Law



Influence of International Law in regional and national jurisdictions



Statutory and constitutional recognition of the right to information



The right of access to environmental information at national level




Systems for public participation in environmental matters




Scope of the Laws providing Access to Information





Scope of beneficiaries: Is access to information provided without discrimination and without having to state an interest?



Material scope: What information can be accessed?





Data, information and knowledge



Restrictions based on format



The definition of ‘Environmental Information’



Access to ‘relevant’ environmental information in decision-making processes




Scope of obligated subjects



Scope of exempted information




Access to Private Sector Environmental Information





Why increase access to private sector environmental information?



Indirect access through public authorities





Active disclosure: from the private duty to report to the public obligation to inform



Passive access: Indirect access by request to a public authority




Direct access to environmental information held by private entities





Private entities included in the definition of ‘public authorities’



Private entities not included in the definition of ‘public authorities’



Private entities active disclosure






The Protection of Trade Secrets and ‘Confidential Business Information’





Why is business confidentiality worthy of protection?



Defining ‘confidential business information’



The logic behind the protection of CBI





Trade secrets as property



Trade secrets as Intellectual Property



Trade secrets as Human Rights




Statutes for the protection of CBI





Trade secrets under international law



CBI protection and national level



CBI not qualifying as trade secrets or IP



Types of CBI and trade secrets with special protection




Protection of CBI and trade secrets via exceptions to disclosure





Access to information about emissions into the environment according to the CJEU






Problems of the System for Access to Private Sector Information





Shortcomings of the public/private divide for access to environmental information





No clear criteria to assimilate private entities to public authorities



Deficiencies of corporate transparency



The organic focus of access laws




Overlapping between the definitions of ‘environmental information’ and ‘confidential business information’





Cost-benefit analysis and other financial information



Technical information about hazardous activities or products



Chemical substances



Health and safety data



Environmental Impact Assessments and other relevant information on specific projects



Geotechnical information and natural resource’s locations




Inconsistencies in the applicable laws



The current toolbox for solving conflicts between access to environmental information and the protection of CBI




Proposal to Reform Access to Environmental Information





Matrix of Values



Integrated contextual analysis instead of ‘balancing of interests’




Conclusions and Recommendations





Colombia



The US



The EU

Erscheinungsdatum
Reihe/Serie Routledge Research in International Environmental Law
Zusatzinfo 6 Tables, black and white
Verlagsort London
Sprache englisch
Maße 156 x 234 mm
Themenwelt Recht / Steuern EU / Internationales Recht
Recht / Steuern Öffentliches Recht Umweltrecht
Recht / Steuern Privatrecht / Bürgerliches Recht IT-Recht
Recht / Steuern Wirtschaftsrecht Gesellschaftsrecht
ISBN-10 1-032-31014-6 / 1032310146
ISBN-13 978-1-032-31014-5 / 9781032310145
Zustand Neuware
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