Morgan and Baker v. Hinton Organics (Wessex) Ltd and Coalition for Access to Justice for The environment (“CAJE”)

Abstract

Environment — Nuisance — Odours — Environmental proceedings — Whether odours from defendant’s premises interfering with claimants’ enjoyment of their properties — Costs — Whether interim costs issue should have been reserved for trial judge — Whether interim costs order unfair and prohibitively expensive — Article 9(4) of Aarhus Convention, 1998 — Applicability of Convention

Treaties — Interpretation and scope — Aarhus Convention, 1998 — United Kingdom and European Community ratifying Convention — Principle in Convention that costs in environmental proceedings should not be prohibitively expensive — Whether Convention applying to private nuisance proceedings — Whether costs order contravening principle — Whether court obliged to comply with Convention — Relevance of Convention

Relationship of international law and municipal law — Treaties — Effect of treaty in domestic law — Aarhus Convention, 1998 — Status of Convention in English law — Principle in Convention that costs in environmental proceedings should not be prohibitively expensive — Treaty obligation — Relevance — Whether directly binding on court — Whether any directly applicable rule of Community law — Civil Procedure Rules Part 44 containing principles governing award of costs in England and Wales — The law of England