On 22. and On 23 February 2018, the Independent Institute for Environmental Issues (UfU) organized the conference “The practice and current legal issues of environmental information law” as part of the project “Evaluation of the Environmental Information Act” on behalf of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) (A summary of the conference can be found here).
65 representatives from authorities, project developers, environmental associations, trade associations, political decision-makers, lawyers and judges came together to discuss specific legal issues and experiences from the implementation of the Environmental Information Act (UIG).
The conference documents can be downloaded below.
Course of the conference, Thursday, February 22, 2018
Moderation: Dr. Michael Zschiesche, Independent Institute for Environmental Issues (UfU)
13:00 Welcome
Dr. Michael Zschiesche, UfU; Daniel Lamfried, Department I 1.3, Legal Environmental Issues, Federal Environment Agency (UBA) Environmental Issues, Federal Environment Agency (UBA); Dietmar Horn, Head of the “Fundamental Issues of Environmental, Building and Urban Development Policy” Department of the BMUB
13:10 Environmental information law in Germany – status and open legal questions
Prof. Dr. Annette Guckelberger, Saarland University
Presentation slides and thesis paper
13:50 Environmental information law and data protection – two sides of the same coin?
Dr. Alexander Dix, LL.M., former Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information
Presentation slides and thesis paper
14:30 Division of the participants into the working groups (WGs)
15:00 Start of work in the AGs:
AG 1: Access to information vs. internal notification of a body obliged to provide information body (§ 8 para. 2 no. 2 UIG)
Head of the working group: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Wegener, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg
WG 2: Access to environmental information on emissions into the environment (Section 9 (1) sentence 2 and (2) sentence 2 UIG)
Head of the working group: Prof. Dr. Indra Spiecker gen. Döhmann, LL.M., Goethe University Frankfurt am Main
WG 3: The practice of private bodies obliged to provide information
Head of the working group: Dr. Sandra Otto, Deutsche Bahn AG
16:30 hrs Coffee break
17:00 Presentation of the working group results in plenary session
Five minutes each by the AG leader
17:15 The “third-party participation procedure” pursuant to § 9 UIG
(Explanation of terms by the moderator) (5 min)
Experiences from official practice (20 min)
Randolf Kipke, UBA
Practical experience from a business perspective (20 min)
Dr. Peter Kersandt, Versteyl Rechtsanwälte Berlin
Presentation slides and thesis paper
18:00 Closing discussion: Freedom of information in the area of conflict between public and other interests
Dr. Peter Kersandt, Randolf Kipke, Prof. Dr. Dr. (h.c.) Thomas Schomerus
Moderation: Dr. Michael Zschiesche, UfU
19:00 Dinner at the restaurant “Die Schule” on the GLS Campus
Course of the conference, Friday, February 23, 2018
Moderation: Dr. Michael Zschiesche, Independent Institute for Environmental Issues (UfU)
09:15 a.m. The significance of environmental information law in the adjudication practice of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee (ACCC) and comparison with the German legal situation (followed by discussion)
Prof. Dr. Dr. (h.c.) Thomas Schomerus, Leuphana University of Lüneburg
Presentation slides and thesis paper
10:15 a.m. Environmental information law in the practice of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety
Matthias Sauer (Head of Division) and Dagmar Lutz (Officer), Division G II 1- Freedom of Information Law, Environmental Liability Law, Better Regulation – of the BMUB
11:15 a.m. Final discussion
12:00 p.m. Closing remarks
Dr. Nadja Salzborn, Head of Division I 1.3, Legal Environmental Issues, UBA
The conference took place as part of the research project “Evaluation of the Environmental Information Act“, which UfU e.V. is conducting together with Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Schomerus (Leuphana University of Lüneburg) and Dr. Kerstin Tews (Free University of Berlin) on behalf of the UBA.
Cooperation partner
Prof. Dr. Dr. (hc.) Thomas Schomerus, Leuphana University of Lüneburg
Prof. Dr. Christian Schrader, Fulda University of Applied Sciences
Dr. Kerstin Tews, Environmental Policy Research Center, Free University of Berlin
Client
Federal Environment Agency (UBA ) and Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety as part of the Environmental Research Plan
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