The Contribution of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee to the Debate on the Apportionment of Obligations between the EU and its Member States

Abstract While acknowledging the differences between judicial and non-judicial bodies, this paper argues that the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee, by dealing with several relevant cases involving the EU and/or its Member States, may potentially provide an important contribution to the legal debate on the apportionment of obligations between the EU and its Member States. What this paper aims to add to such a debate is a broader analysis of the Committee’s cases by encompassing more recent communications into the investigation. In particular, this paper will clarify the role of the declaration of competence under the Aarhus Convention and will examine whether the Aarhus Committee applies the normative control doctrine when dealing with EU directives.