The Protocol became international law binding its Parties on 8 October 2009. The first session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol was held on 20-22 April 2010 in Geneva, Switzerland, the second session on 3-4 July 2014 in Maastricht, Netherlands.
All UN Member States can join the Protocol, including those which have not ratified the Aarhus Convention and those which are not members of the Economic Commission for Europe.
The Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers - PRTR to the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters , was adopted at an extraordinary meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention (including European Union), within the fifth Pan - European Ministerial conference "Environment for Europe” that took place on 21 May 2003. The Protocol became international law binding on 8 October 2009.
As of 31 December 2003, the following 36 States and the European Union had signed the Protocol: Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In addition, the European Community had signed the Protocol.
As of 20 May 2016, the Protocol has been ratified by 34 countries and the European Union.
The Protocol requires each Party to establish a PRTR which is
The PRTR Reporting is:
Just like the Aarhus Convention, the Protocol sets minimum requirements, which means that the parties are free to include additional pollutants and business entities. Protocol requires Parties to work towards harmonization between registers.
The full text of the Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers to the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters