Private Sector Environmental Information and the Law

Auteur

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).

Texte du rabat

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.

Contenu

Acknowledgements

List of acronyms and abbreviations

Introduction

1. Why now?

2. Background and scope

3. Normative Framework

   Preliminary Notions of the Right to Know and the Private Sector

   Legal and Historical Precedents of Access to Environmental Information

4. Transition to democratic state models

5. The transparency trend

6. 'Information governance' and environmental reform

7. The evolution of human rights theory

   Fundamental notions of Private Entities

8. Public v Private

9. Definition of Private Entities

10. Public and Private Information

11. The protection of business confidentiality

    The Aarhus Convention: Fundamental concepts and contribution

12. Environmental Participation under Aarhus

13. Contribution and innovative features

    Characterisation of the Right to Access Environmental Information

    Recognition of the right to information as a human right

14. The Right to Access Environmental Information in International Law

15. Influence of International Law in regional and national jurisdictions

16. Statutory and constitutional recognition of the right to information

17. 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?

18. Data, information and knowledge

19. Restrictions based on format

20. The definition of 'Environmental Information'

21. 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

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

23. Passive access: Indirect access by request to a public authority

    Direct access to environmental information held by private entities

24. Private entities included in the definition of 'public authorities'

25. Private entities not included in the definition of 'public authorities'

26. 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

27. Trade secrets as property

28. Trade secrets as Intellectual Property

29. Trade secrets as Human Rights

    Statutes for the protection of CBI

30. Trade secrets under international law

31. CBI protection and national level

32. CBI not qualifying as trade secrets or IP

33. Types of CBI and trade secrets with special protection

    Protection of CBI and trade secrets via exceptions to disclosure

34. 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

35. No clear criteria to assimilate private entities to public authorities

36. Deficiencies of corporate transparency

37. The organic focus of access laws

    Overlapping between the definitions of 'environmental information' and 'confidential business information'

38. Cost-benefit analysis and other financial information

39. Technical information about hazardous activities or products

40. Chemical substances

41. Health and safety data

42. Environmental Impact Assessments and other relevant information on specific projects

43. 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

44. Matrix of Values

45. Integrated contextual analysis instead of 'balancing of interests'

    Conclusions and Recommendations

46. Colombia

47. The US

48. The EU