EPL is a public interest environmental law organization which since 1994 has been protecting environmental rights, supporting, restoring and improving the environment and providing legal help in protecting other human rights, especially those which overlap with environmental rights.
We care about environment in Ukraine and abroad and are concerned about all the risks, threats and dangers which may lead to deterioration of the environment.
At present environmental protection is the hottest problem of the humankind. There is a growing threat not only for human health and well-being but for existence of life on our planet in general.
Work of the organization is directed towards transformation of safe though often extremely polluted environment into favorable for life and health environment, preservation of biodiversity, protection of flora and fauna, stoppage of uncontrolled emissions and dumps of harmful substances into environment and elimination of other negative factors, fight with non-activity as for global environmental issues in general and climate change issues in particular.
This is a difficult and time-consuming process because often negligence of environmental rights, low level of their priority, ineffective court system of Ukraine put serious obstacles on the way to proper environmental protection and protection of environmental rights.
However, as Abraham Lincoln said, “the possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.”
This faith in the noble goals of our work combined with high professionalism and much devotion provide the driving force behind EPL.
The effective functioning of civic society is crucial to the functioning of a state.
Citizen action very often becomes decisive for resolution of environmental problems.
Citizens’ awareness of their rights and freedoms is a key to the effectiveness of civic society.
A great part of EPL’s work aims to inform citizens about their rights, in particular in the environmental sphere, and to empower them in realization of these rights.
EPL does this by providing consultations, conducting seminars and conferences, litigating, and publishing the EPL Journal.
Many of EPL court cases attempt to protect people whose rights were violated in some way.
Also, EPL endeavours to raise a new generation of environmental lawyers who realize the great importance of environmental protection and have effective tools to accomplish it.
EPL’s cooperation with NGOs in Ukraine and abroad grows every year, and provides EPL opportunities to widen its experience and raise its professional capacities.
Mission of the organization is to establish the rule of law for environmental protection.
Law, its principles and norms create a basis for environmental protection and are its integral part which enables
- legal regulation of legal relations in the sphere of environmental protection
- usage and restoration of natural resources
- environmental safety
- prevention and liquidation of negative impact of human activity on the environment
- preservation of natural resources, complexes, objects and unique territories as well as protection from negative impact on human life and health.
Because of utmost importance of environment for people, environmental safety, compliance with environmental norms, standards, rules, orders and limits are among priorities of the society.
Legal protection of violated environmental rights and interests is guaranteed by the Constitution and is directed at preserving safe environment and guaranteeing safe and then favorable for human life and health environment.
We think that this form of protecting environmental rights allows for utmost realization of democratic principles and full account for interests of all subjects of legal relations in the sphere of environmental safety and interests of society in general.