Structuring local communities and development of local democracy for engagement in Radioactive Waste Management governance

Engagement of local communities and actors in the decision-making processes is traditionally motivated by the fact they are impacted by the decision taken. This traditional rationale for engagement of local communities and actors is driven not only by ethical concerns, but also by the necessity for public authorities to comply with national or international legal frameworks which give to stakeholders, concerned by a decision having environmental impacts, the right to be informed and participate in the decision (e.g. the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters or, in the French context, the Charter for the Environment which has been included in the French constitution in 2005).