Application of the Aarhus Convention in Southeast Europe
Our survey showed that there have not been many examples of the direct application of the Aarhus Convention by the courts in SEE countries. In situations where the Aarhus Convention could be applied, the courts would rather apply the rules of domestic legislation that are relevant to the merits of the case, or the provisions of the EU directives that regulate access to information, public participation in decisionmaking and access to justice in environmental matters. In addition, in many environmental cases the Aarhus Convention will not be applicable, since it does not contain any substantive rules regarding the right to a healthy environment.
Vindicating Fundamental Environmental Rights: Judicial Acceptance of Constitutionally Entrenched Environmental Rights
This article examines the extent to which constitutionally embedded fundamental environmental rights have met the promise of ensuring a right to an adequate environment. It explains these results and suggests ways to neutralize judicial resistance to these emerging constitutional rights. In Part II we explain the prevalence of constitutionally entrenched rights to a quality environment. In Part III, we provide examples of the extent to which courts have enforced these provisions. In Part IV, we examine institutional and structural factors, conceptual disjunctions, and pragmatic considerations that help to explain judicial receptivity to constitutionally entrenched environmental rights. And in Part V we suggest modalities for successful constitutional environmental litigation of constitutionally enshrined environmental rights.We conclude that judicial receptivity to fundamental environmental rights provisions embedded in domestic constitutions seems to belie predictable patterns. We also conclude that no single explanation emerges for the relative dearth of cases giving force to these provisions. Although courts have not been as enthusiastic to embrace environmental rights as some activists would have liked, there is noticeable and steady progress toward their growing recognition in courts throughout the world. And as constitutional courts become more aware of what their peers are doing, this momentum is likely to increase. Moreover, even where courts have not accepted the constitutional environmental arguments, the mere fact that such arguments are being made and considered augments the attention that constitutional fundamental environmental rights receive in public discourse. And this, in itself, can meaningfully contribute to the success of environmental claims in the future. The result is that collectively the judiciary will continue to play a necessary if not sufficient role in the vindication of fundamental environmental rights worldwide.
Axonal sensorimotor neuropathy in patients with β-thalassaemia
Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of peripheral neuropathy in patients with β-thalassaemia. Methods: Thirty six patients with a mean age of 29.2±8.2 years and 17 healthy controls with a mean age of 27.6±9.1 were included in this study. Measurements included the neuropathy symptoms score (NSS), the neuropathy disability score (NDS) as well as nerve conduction studies of two motor (ulnar and peroneal) and two sensory (ulnar and sural) nerves of the right limbs. Results: A mainly sensory axonal polyneuropathy was present in 19 out of 36 patients (52.7%). Eight out of these 19 patients also had abnormal NDS values. The neuropathy correlated significantly with the age of the patients and the hematocrit. However, it did not correlate with the presence of antibodies against HCV, the ferritin levels, or with a history of transfusions, desferrioxamine treatment, or splenectomy. Conclusions: This study showed a high prevalence of a predominantly sensory neuropathy in patients with β-thalassaemia. The electrophysiological data suggest that the underlying pathology is an axonopathy. Chronic hypoxia of the nerves resulting from severe anaemia may contribute to the pathogenesis of this neuropathy.