Contents

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ENV L REV 11 (2009) 1

An International Court for the Environment
Stephen Hockman QC

The notion of an International Court for the Environment is not a wholly newidea. Such a proposal was mooted as long ago as 1999 at a Conference in Washington sponsored by a foundation which had been set up to investigate the establishment of an international court for the environment.... Now the problem has been given a new urgency... if the daunting challenges now facing the world are to be overcome, it must be through the medium of rules, internationally agreed, internationally implemented and, if necessary, internationally enforced.

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ENV L REV 11 (2009) 7

The Environmental Liability Directive - Extending Nature Protection in Europe
Malte Petersen

With regard to nature protection through environmental liability, recent developments in Europe are most interesting. After the EC had already established a coherent species and habitat protection regime with the Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive in 1979/1992 - which alone is remarkable because it covers areas of protection not only within national borders but throughout Europe - it introduced the Environmental Liability Directive (ELD) in 2004. The ELD aims at nature protection - in addition to the protection of water and land - by requiring potential polluters to avoid pollution, or to remediate the affected area in case of damage. One interesting point about the Directive is the fact that it ties in with the existing nature protection regime by making a reference to the Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive. This link between existing nature protection regulations and additional liability provisions is notable in various respects: First, more than a decade after the introduction of a nature protection regime an additional regime is established in Europe to make the existing species and habitat protection more effective. Secondly, the environmental liability regime - as will be shown in this contribution - extends the scope of existing nature protection in Europe. Thus, we are witnessing an interesting way to extend nature protection through environmental liability regulations. The issue is crucial not only for Member States - regarding the design of the provisions which have to be adopted to implement the ELD - but also for operators, who face a potential liability.

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ENV L REV 11 (2009) 23

Local Government Reform and Sustainable Development in Wales and Ireland
Victoria Jenkins

With regard to nature protection through environmental liability, recent developments in Europe are most interesting. After the EC had already established a coherent species and habitat protection regime with the Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive in 1979/1992 - which alone is remarkable because it covers areas of protection not only within national borders but throughout Europe - it introduced the Environmental Liability Directive (ELD) in 2004. The ELD aims at nature protection - in addition to the protection of water and land - by requiring potential polluters to avoid pollution, or to remediate the affected area in case of damage. One interesting point about the Directive is the fact that it ties in with the existing nature protection regime by making a reference to the Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive. This link between existing nature protection regulations and additional liability provisions is notable in various respects: First, more than a decade after the introduction of a nature protection regime an additional regime is established in Europe to make the existing species and habitat protection more effective. Secondly, the environmental liability regime - as will be shown in this contribution - extends the scope of existing nature protection in Europe. Thus, we are witnessing an interesting way to extend nature protection through environmental liability regulations. The issue is crucial not only for Member States - regarding the design of the provisions which have to be adopted to implement the ELD - but also for operators, who face a potential liability.

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ENV L REV 11 (2009) 40

The Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008
Carolyn Abbot

The provisions of the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008 implement many of the recommendations of both the Hampton and Macrory Reviews, and are best read in conjunction with guidance issued by the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Part I creates a Local Better Regulation Office, the objective of which is to promote the fair and efficient delivery of regulation by local authorities. Closely related to this, in Part II of the Act, is the nomination of a Primary Authority by a regulated entity whose operations cross local authority boundaries. Part III of the Act gives effect to a number of the Macrory Review recommendations and introduces inter alia fixed and variable civil monetary penalties and enforcement undertakings. Finally, Part IV places a duty to keep regulatory functions under review and, when carrying out those functions, not to impose unnecessary burdens.

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ENV L REV 11 (2009) 48

'Substantial Interest' Requirement for Judicial Review of Planning Decisions Harding v Cork County Council and An Bord Pleanála and Xces Projects Ltd now known as Kinsale Harbour Developments Ltd
Rónán Kennedy

The Supreme Court of Ireland recently considered the criteria by which a person may be said to have a 'substantial interest' (which is the statutory requirement) in a planning matter which is sufficient to allow that person to bring judicial review proceedings. Although the Court went some way towards clarifying an important issue in Irish planning and development law, it did not spell out a detailed set of criteria for future applications and its approach to the issue indicates an overly restrictive view of the scope of locus standi in planning cases, raising concerns about the denial of relief where a procedural error occurs but no-one who is directly affected comes forward (although this may not be a common issue in practice).

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Links to other issues

Volume 2 (2000) :   4

Volume 3 (2001) :   1   2   3   4

Volume 4 (2002) :   1   2   3   4

Volume 5 (2003) :   1   2   3   4

Volume 6 (2004) :   1   2   3   4

Volume 7 (2005) :   1   2   3   4

Volume 8 (2006) :   1   2   3   4

Volume 9 (2007) :   1   2   3   4

Volume 10 (2008) :   1   2   3   4

Volume 11 (2009) :   1

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