The Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) was adopted at the Fourth “Environment for Europe” Ministerial Conference in Aarhus, Denmark, on 25 June 1998. It entered into force on 30 October 2001. As at April 2014, it had 47 Parties from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) region, which includes 46 countries plus the European Union (EU).The Aarhus Convention is a new kind of environmental agreement. It links environmental rights and human rights, acknowledges that we owe an obligation to future generations and establishes that sustainable development can be achieved only through the involvement of all stakeholders. It links government accountability and environmental protection. It focuses on interactions between the public and public authorities in a democratic context and is forging a new process for public participation in the negotiation and implementation of international agreements.The subject of the Aarhus Convention goes to the heart of the relationship between people and governments. The Convention is not only an environmental agreement, it is also an agreement about government accountability, transparency and responsiveness.The Aarhus Convention grants the public rights and imposes on Parties and public authorities obligations regarding access to information and public participation. It backs up these rights with access to justice provisions that go some way towards putting teeth into the Convention.3 In fact, the preamble directly links environmental protection to human rights norms and expressly recognizes that every person has the right to live in an environment adequate to his or her health and well-being.Whereas most multilateral environmental agreements cover obligations that Parties have to each other, the Aarhus Convention covers obligations that Parties have to the public. It goes further than any other environmental convention in imposing clear obligations on Parties and public authorities towards the public as far as access to information, public participation and access to justice are concerned. This is reinforced by the compliance review system under the Convention, which allows members of the public to bring issues of compliance before an international body.Just as the public, and in particular non-governmental organizations (NGOs), played a crucial role in the negotiation of the Convention, they have a central role to play in its implementation. Given the wide range of social, economic and political characteristics throughout the ECE region, donors and international organizations also have an important role to play in supporting the effective implementation of the Convention. Ultimately, however, the effective implementation of the Convention depends on the Parties themselves and their willingness to implement its provisions fully and in a progressive manner. The path towards full implementation will be an adventurous one, full of rewards and surprises as well as occasional obstacles. At the end of the trail, however, lies a blueprint for improved decision-making, a more active and engaged population, and greater availability of information on environmental matters