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The right of access to information on the state of the environment: legal support in Ukraine

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Parent Category: 2026

Category: Content №3 2026

Created on 26 June 2026

Last Updated on 26 June 2026

Published on 30 November -0001

Written by M. Sirant, L. Sheptytska, S. Tsebenko, O. Remenyak, N. Zakharchyn

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Authors:

M. Sirant*, orcid.org/0000-0002-9393-2397, Lviv Polytechnic National University, Lviv, Ukraine; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

L. Sheptytska, orcid.org/0000-0003-3070-0131, National Forestry University of Ukraine, Lviv, Ukraine; е-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

S. Tsebenko, orcid.org/0000-0002-9247-1867, Lviv Polytechnic National University, Lviv, Ukraine; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

O. Remenyak, orcid.org/0000-0002-5175-1280, National Forestry University of Ukraine, Lviv, Ukraine; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

N. Zakharchyn, orcid.org/0000-0003-3000-2595, National Forestry University of Ukraine, Lviv, Ukraine; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

* Corresponding author e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

повний текст / full article

Naukovyi Visnyk Natsionalnoho Hirnychoho Universytetu. 2026, (3): 203 - 212

https://doi.org/10.33271/nvngu/2026-3/203

Abstract:

Purpose. To identify problematic aspects of protecting the right of access to information on the state of the environment (RAISE), to propose and justify improvements to the norms of the current Legislation of Ukraine. RAISE

Methods. The use of the comparative legal method allowed us to identify discrepancies in the Legislation on the RAISE. Dialectical method ‒ to indicate the signs of environmental information and define them as indicator norms. Formal and legal method ‒ to justify the strengthening of the imperative norms of the RAISE and develop proposals for improving the legal mechanisms of the RAISE. The method of interpreting legal norms is to propose changes to the Legislation to properly ensure the RAISE.

Findings. Problematic aspects of the RAISE are identified, and the insufficiency of their legal support is proven. It is indicated that the use of decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) as a precedent does not sufficiently resolve the contradictions of the Legislation due to the subsidiary nature of the role of the ECHR. It is indicated that improper expert assessment of threats of changes in the state of the environment, as a result of which the population is not informed about the threat, requires its definition as an offense. It is proposed to normalize an open information environment, which is based on an integrated database of environmental data of individual institutional structures and comprehensive monitoring of the state of the environment (SE). It is indicated that information about SE is one of the guarantees of the implementation of basic human rights ‒ the right to life and health. It is noted that when the implemented restrictions on the RAISE can have serious consequences for the health and life of citizens, this increases the responsibility for not providing the population with information about SE.

Originality. Discrepancies in the current legislation in the legal sphere of access to information on the state of the environment are identified, measures to improve these legal mechanisms are proposed. The need to strengthen the level of imperativeness of the norms of the Environmental Protection and Environmental Protection Act are substantiated. Measures to regulate discrepancies in the Legislation to avoid legal, social and political consequences and ensure the procedural legal capacity of citizens. For the proper implementation of the RAISE during martial law, it is proposed to conduct permanent monitoring of the SE and promptly publish its results. The signs of environmental information are indicated and their use as indicator norms is proposed.

Practical value. The results of the study and the proposed measures for changes in the Legislation of Ukraine to properly ensure the RAISE can be used by representatives of institutional structures to improve legal norms and in the practical activities of lawyers and research by scientists.

Keywords: information, legal norms, human rights, state of the environment, legal mechanisms

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