Within the EU, a
complex web of legal avenues exists to address breaches of environmental law.
This paper critically examines the judicial and non-judicial mechanisms
available for litigating such breaches, focusing on the ‘legitimacy assets’
that characterize these mechanisms: independence, accessibility, material
scope, and powers. This contribution therefore delves into the action for
annulment and the preliminary reference procedure before the Court of Justice
of the European Union (CJEU), the internal review procedure foreseen under the
Aarhus Regulation, the complaint before the European Ombudsman (EO), the review
mechanism of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee (ACCC), and the
possibility of bringing cases to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). It
reveals strong suits and drawbacks for each avenue, ultimately advocating for a
renewed attention for the non-judicial mechanisms.