The evolution of the principle of participatory democracy at international and European level.

In this paper I will follow the evolution of the principle of participatory democracy. Indeed, especially in the last decades, more and more attention has been paid to ensure the adoption of instruments of participatory democracy, first of all by supranational provisions – international and EU. Thus, the Rio De Janeiro Declaration provided for the states’ duty to encourage the participation of interested citizens, at different levels, in decision-making procedures; thus, the Aarhus Convention established the criteria concerning the modalities and timing, in observance of which the participatory processes must be implemented. Although the EU emphasized its favor towards an expansion of participatory dynamics both with reference to general policies and, more specifically, with reference to environmental policies, it merely states the principle, but does not specify the implementation models for the principle itself.