31/03/2026 - Book Launch: "Environmental NGOs and access to justice before the CJEU"

Mario Pagano's book "Environmental NGOs and access to justice before the CJEU" tells a fascinating legal mobilisation story. Analysing EU environmental law litigation over the last 30 years, it illustrates how the European environmental movement has broadened access to justice opportunities before the EU Courts. The book draws on both doctrinal analysis and qualitative methods of socio-legal inquiry. At its heart are interviews with key stakeholders: environmental lawyers, plaintiffs, and activists, which give an invaluable and innovative perspective. With the growing emergency posed by the climate crisis and resultant increased litigation, this book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the impact of litigation in European environmental law.

About the author: 

Mario Pagano works as legal officer at DG ENV of the European Commission, where he deals with legal implementation and enforcement of EU environmental law at Member State level. Prior to join the Commission, Mario worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Amsterdam in the frame of the “N-EXTLAW” project, aiming at mainstreaming non-extractive economic practices across Europe. Mario holds a PhD in Law from the European University Institute of Florence (Italy) where he wrote his doctoral dissertation on NGOs’ legal mobilisation efforts to overcome the Plaumann test in EU environmental litigation.
 

Panel composed of:

• Paul Dermine, Professor of EU Law, ULB
• Chiara Armeni, Director of Centre for European Law, Prof. of Environmental Law, ULB
• Mariolina Eliantonio, Professor of European and Comparative Administrative Law and Procedure, Maastricht University