The European Convention and the future of European environmental law

Abstract:

This book consists of the papers submitted during a conference between the Avosetta Group in Amsterdam in 2002. This is a group of lawyers who meet on an informal basis, whose aim is to promote and enhance the development of environmental law within the EU (European Union).

Divided into seven chapters, each from a different contributor, the book progresses through a range of subjects and issues. In chapter one, on environmental principles in Community Law, the writer deals, for example, with community functions, enabling functions, directive functions, legal doctrine, the question of infringing upon basic human freedoms, and sustainability. Chapter two turns to the numerous complexities over the right to a 'clean environment' as laid down in the constitution of the EU, in terms of primary legislation, procedural rights, human rights, and the relationship between environmental pollution and its effects on the legal status of individuals. In chapter three, there is a discussion of the so-called 'division of competence' between EU Member States and the EC (European Community). Chapter four scrutinises the link between EU environmental policy and civil society, with work on the pre-proposal stage, the role of ENGOs, green and white papers and the decision-making process, among other issues, while chapter five addresses the problem of the EC's external competence and environmental protection. Chapter six explores the future role of the ECJ in European environmental law, in respect of the Court of Justice and the notion of decentralising the dispute settlement over the environment, and chapter seven concludes the book by assessing the implications of enlargement within the EU and its impact on the environment.