European Union Case Law On The Birds And Habitats Directives

Energy and Environmental Law and Policy Series Despite the remarkable scope of EU conservation policy, and notwithstanding 30 years of relevant case law, nature in the EU continues to decline. This comprehensive book, focusing on the EU’s core legislation on nature, the Birds and Habitats Directives, presents a detailed summary and analysis of the two directives as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the European Union. The book’s systematic structure provides the crucial details of a large body of cases decided by the Court following legal actions taken by the European Commission or preliminary references submitted by national courts. It enables a clear procedural understanding of how nature cases are brought before the Court and how the Court approaches matters such as the burden of proof and the entitlement of environmental associations to litigate disputes. Among the salient areas of analysis are the following: the requirements for including sites within Natura 2000, the largest network of protected nature areas in the world; the obligations to conserve Natura 2000 sites and protect them from damage, including through procedural and substantive assessment requirements for plans and projects; requirements concerning unlawful or illegal activities; the strict protection requirements that apply to wild birds and other species, together with related derogation provisions; requirements to protect habitats in the wider countryside and interlinkages between the nature directives and directives on impact assessment, water, and environmental liability; challenges addressed or influenced by the Court, such as defects in Member State transposition, problems of monitoring and enforcing compliance, and dealing with harmful and benign subsidies; procedures used to bring cases to the Court, including direct actions by the Commission and preliminary references from national courts. According to the 2020 Global Risk Report of the World Economic Forum, biodiversity loss will be one of the biggest threats facing humanity in the next ten years. If nature is to have any hope of recovering and prospering, strict application of existing nature conservation rules is of utmost importance, especially as a recent evaluation shows that, although the EU nature directives are fit for purpose, implementation on the ground is lagging behind. By setting out the case law systematically and explaining what compliance with specific requirements entails, this book makes a signal contribution to nature conservation practice. Lawyers, policymakers, and NGOs working in the domain of nature conservation will greatly benefit.

"Taking into account new case law of the European courts, recent environmental directives and regulations, and the new provisions of the Lisbon Treaty, this book provides an in-depth analysis of important legal issues of European environmental law. What are the legal grounds for EU environmental policy, and on what principles are directives and regulations based upon? To what extent [are] EU environmental regulations more stringent [than] national environmental standards? What are the requirements the Court of Justice has imposed on the member states implementing environmental directives? How and to what extent can European environmental law be relied upon and challenged before national courts and the European courts? How do the Treaty rules on the internal market and undistorted competition interfere with national environmental policy? Answers to these and other questions can be found in this book. The book discusses all major environmental directives and regulations, integrating important judgments of the Court of Justice on their interpretations. Futhermore, national case law on the application of European environmental law is also ... taken into account"--Provided by publisher.

This book analyses the Habitats Directive; one of the most prominent piece of EU environmental legislation of the past decades. Seen by some as the cornerstone of Europe’s nature conservation policy, among other measures the Directive established the so-called "Natura 2000" ecological network, which covers more than 18% of the surface of the EU. However, despite the fact the Directive was adopted over twenty years ago only 17% of the protected habitats and species in Europe are being adequately protected while 10-60 % of animal species remain under threat. In light of the limited success and the contested nature of the Habitats Directive so far this book examines the successes and failures of the Habitats Directive from a legal and political angle. The book brings together international experts to consider the application, implementation and future of the Habitats Directive in order to assess whether the Habitats Directive is resilient enough to tackle biodiversity loss in the twenty- first century. Particular emphasis is put on the legal regime attached to the Natura 2000 network and its possible impact on land development and the relationship between the Habitats Directive and other topics including liability for ecological damage and transboundary nature conservation.

This book is the result of doctoral studies that I started in October 2004. At the outset, I only knew that I wanted to work on interest groups and litigation in the context of the European Union. At that time, I would not have believed that I would find myself some time later touring half Western Europe to interview environmental organisations, nor that I would read French, German and Dutch court rulings on the protection of endangered species whose names were completely unknown to me. Yet I never regretted my choice of topic, and hopefully the following chapters will convince the reader that it is indeed a topic that merits our attention. I would not have been able to cope with all the pitfalls of a long research project without the strong and enduring support of my friends and colleagues. Both personally and academically, I have profited enormously from my three years as a doctoral student at the department of political science at the Institute for Advanced Studies (Institut für Höhere Studien) in Vienna, Austria. I am very much indebted to Gerda Falkner, Oliver Treib, Sylvia Kritzinger and Irina Michalowitz for organising such a great programme which allowed me and my colleagues to engage in intensive discussions with outstanding academic scholars such as Alec Stone-Sweet, Paul Pierson, James Caporaso, Frank Schimmelfennig, Klaus Goetz, Andrea Lenschow, Katharina Holzinger and Hellen Wallace.

This leading monograph on European Environmental Law now completely updated and revised. Taking into account the changes of the 'Amsterdam Treaty', new case law of the Court of Justice and recent environmental directives and regulations. Prof. Jans acclaimed book provides an in-depth analysis of important legal issues of European environmental law. What are the legal grounds for EC environmental policy and on what principles are directives and regulations based upon? To what extent preclude EC environmental directives more stringent national environmental standards? What are the requirements the Court of Justice has imposed on the Member States implementing environmental directives? To what extent can European environmental law be relied upon and challenged before national courts and the Court of Justice? How do the Treaty rules on the Internal Market and undistorted competition interfere with national environmental policy? Answers to these questions can be found in prof. Jans' book. The book discusses all major environmental directives and regulations, integrating important judgments of the Court of Justice on their interpretation. Various national case law on the application of European environmental law is being taken into account. About the author: Prof. Jans (1956) teaches EU law at the Europa Instituut of the law faculty of the University of Amsterdam. He is a member of the Dutch Commission on Environmental Impact Assessment, Vice-Chairman of the Appeal Committee of the Dutch Cartel Authority, and honorory judge at the Assen District Court. He is also member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Environmental Law, SEW, Legal Issues of Economic Integration and The Columbia Journal of European Law.

EC law is now a pervasive part of the legislation affecting business, government agencies, the voluntary sector and the individual citizen across the whole of the European Union. This uniquely comprehensive and accessible guide provides a simple and practical explanation of the most important aspects of EC environmental law. In straightforward terms it introduces the EC and its institutions and explains where EC environmental law and policy can be found. It discusses the main environmental laws relating to air and noise, chemicals and industrial risks, nature conservation, waste and water, and explains how these laws can be used to ensure environmental protection. The book also explains the EC's law-making procedures and discusses the stages at which lobbying can be used to influence the content of future EC environmental laws. Useful case studies and suggestions for further reading for those wishing to research a particular area are also included. This book will be an invaluable source of reference and practical guidance for lawyers, business, local government, environmental groups and all those needing to understand and use EC law in this area. Dorothy Gillies is a lawyer and lecturer in law at the University of Glasgow. She has worked in the European Parliament and in the European Commission's Directorate-General XI for Environment, Nuclear Safety and Civil Protection. Originally published in 1998

This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license. It explores the diverse phenomena which are challenging the international law of the sea today, using the unique perspective of a simultaneous analysis of the national, individual and common interests at stake. This perspective, which all the contributors bear in mind when treating their own topic, also constitutes a useful element in the effort to bring today’s legal complexity and fragmentation to a homogenous vision of the sustainable use of the marine environment and of its resources, and also of the international and national response to maritime crimes.The volume analyzes the relevant legal frameworks and recent developments, focusing on the competing interests which have influenced State jurisdiction and other regulatory processes. An analysis of the competing interests and their developments allows us to identify actors and relevant legal and institutional contexts, retracing how and when these elements have changed over time.

Human activities are depleting ecosystems at an unprecedented rate. In spite of nature conservation efforts worldwide, many ecosystems including those critical for human well-being have been damaged or destroyed. States and citizens need a new vision of how humans can reconnect with the natural environment. With its focus on the long-term holistic recovery of ecosystems, ecological restoration has received increasing attention in the past decade from both scientists and policymakers. Research on the implications of ecological restoration for the law and law for ecological restoration has been largely overlooked. This is the first published book to examine comprehensively the relationship between international environmental law and ecological restoration. While international environmental law (IEL) has developed significantly as a discipline over the past four decades, this book enquires whether IEL can now assist states in making a strategic transition from not just protecting and maintaining the natural environment but also actively restoring it. Arguing that states have international duties to restore, this book offers reflections on the philosophical context of ecological restoration and the legal content of a duty to restore from an international law, European Union law and national law perspective. The book concludes with a discussion of several contemporary themes of interest to both lawyers and ecologists including the role of private actors, protected areas and climate change in ecological restoration.