Reflections on the Participation Principle in the International Environmental Law

The Participation principle is considered as one of the key features of international environmental law. It plays an important role in participatory democracy in this field. One of the solutions for redressing international law failures is the participation of all actors including citizens and NGOs.The Rio Declaration, the Aarhus Convention, the Agenda 21 and other documents on participatory democracy emphasize on the role of major groups in the realization of social objectives, policies and administrative mechanisms. The realization of this principle requires some components such as the right of access to environmental information, public participation in decision- making, access to administrative and judicial authorities. This article studies the vital role of this principle in international environmental law as well as the analysis of the above components.