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not affect the powers of national courts to award reasonable costs in judicial
proceedings.

9. Within the scope of the relevant provisions of this Convention, the
public shall have access to information, have the possibility to participate
in decision-making and have access to justice in environmental matters without
discrimination as to citizenship, nationality or domicile and, in the case of
a legal person, without discrimination as to where it has its registered seat
or an effective centre of its activities.

Article 4

ACCESS TO ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION
1. Each Party shall ensure that, subject to the following paragraphs of
this article, public authorities, in response to a request for environmental
information, make such information available to the public, within the
framework of national legislation, including, where requested and subject to
subparagraph (b) below, copies of the actual documentation containing or
comprising such information:

(a) Without an interest having to be stated;

(b) In the form requested unless :

(i) It is reasonable for the public authority to make it available
in another form, in which case reasons shall be given for
making it available in that form; or
(ii) The information is already publicly available in another form.

2. The environmental information referred to in paragraph 1 above shall be
made available as soon as possible and at the latest within one month after
the request has been submitted, unless the volume and the complexity of the
information justify an extension of this period up to two months after the
request. The applicant shall be informed of any extension and of the reasons
justifying it.
3. A request for environmental information may be refused if:

(a) The public authority to which the request is addressed does not hold
the environmental information requested;

(b) The request is manifestly unreasonable or formulated in too general
a manner; or

(c) The request concerns material in the course of completion or
concerns internal communications of public authorities where such an exemption
is provided for in national law or customary practice, taking into account the
public interest served by disclosure.
4. A request for environmental information may be refused if the disclosure
would adversely affect :

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