Right to a Favourable Environment

The scope of protection of the right to a favourable environment includes questions, alerts and complaints of those seeking assistance from the Ombudsman to resolve their violated rights regarding:

• Collecting and disseminating information about the environment;
• Ensuring public access to information on the environment;
• Providing opportunities for the public to participate effectively in decision-making on activities affecting the environment, as well as in the development of draft legislation, strategies, plans and programmes relating to the environment;
• Guaranteeing access for representatives of the public to administrative and judicial procedures for challenging actions or omissions by private persons or public authorities that do not comply with the procedures for access to environmental information, effective public participation in decision-making affecting the environment or violate national legislation relating to the environment;
• Introducing adequate and effective legal remedies that are fair, impartial and timely, without being unaffordable for members of the public.

The applicable legal framework includes the: Environmental Protection Act, Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, Directive 2003/4/EC, Directive 2003/35/EC, Aarhus Convention as well as caselaw by the ECtHR, ECJ and national courts. The ECtHR has established that Article 8 of the ECHR encompasses a right to effective protection by the State authorities from the serious adverse effects of climate change on lives, health, well-being and quality of life (ECtHR case no. 53600/20 Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland of 9 April 2024).