About GUTA
Board of Directors: Ilya Trombitsky (Chair), Sándor Fülöp, Rodica-Iordanca Iordanov, Dmitry Skrylnikov, Boris Vasylkivskyi, Olena Kravchenko, Elena Laevskaya
The Association organizes periodic conferences and workshops for its members. In addition to addressing current, substantive issues of public interest environmental law reform and advocacy in the region, the conferences and workshops include the annual meeting of the General Assembly of members.
The Association facilitates communication among members through networking and any appropriate means.
The Association supports fundraising activities, and other projects in furtherance of the interests of its members, including the support of members in international and national cases before courts of law.
It has initiated regional cooperation in public interest environmental law reform and advocacy and furthered the rule of law and increasing participatory democracy in its region and beyond. Its series of periodic meetings have been a stepping stone to cooperation across borders among dedicated professional environmental lawyers.
The Guta Association cooperates with various partners, including the Justice and Environment network, European Environmental Bureau, European Eco Forum and the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (ELAW), thus enhancing the capacities of European and global networks of lawyers, public advocates and CSOs.
Its experts regularly participate in various bodies of international agreements, including the Aarhus Convention, other UNECE conventions and protocols, including the Protocols on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), and the United Nations Environment Assembly processes.
Guta experts contributed to the negotiation of the Aarhus Convention, the Protocols on PRTR, SEA and Water and Health, among others. More recently they participated in the negotiations of the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean – known as the Escazú Agreement – adopted on March 4, 2018, which entered into force on April 22, 2021. They provided expertise and supported the LAC civil society and UN ECLAC through capacity building and advice. One of the novelties of this agreement is an article addressing the protection of environmental defenders. Guta experts also have vast experience in capacity building for CSOs on learning of and practicing access rights.
The Guta Association activities include regular networking and sharing of information with members throughout the year about the most recent developments regarding the European and global environmental forums, including the Aarhus Convention and the EU environmental policy and law developments, and issues relevant to the Association’s mandate. The representatives of the Association attend personally or online all Task Forces, Working Group meetings and MOPs of the Aarhus Convention and actively contribute to the discussions with proposals and statements. [The activities of the Association currently are mostly based on pro bono voluntary work and are project-based, as its funding comes from membership fees and donations.]