Environmental Law 1 INTRODUCTION TO CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES

Environmental Law 1 INTRODUCTION TO CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES

Environmental Law 2 Environment Economic Social Growth Integration

Environmental Law 3 Sources of Environmental Law Common Law Statutes, statutory instruments, etc European Union law International law Human rights law Does not comprise of one distinct set of rules

Environmental Law 4 Utilises a combination of regulatory approaches: Licensing conditions; Inspection procedures; Courts; Self-regulation Includes various laws, regulatory approaches, and instruments in order to protect environment

Environmental Law 5 Functions of environmental law: Prevention of harm/damage to the environment 2. Setting environmental quality standards 3. Clean up / remediation after the event ? 1. Who is responsible for improving the quality of the environment? What do you understand by the term ‘environment’?

Environmental Law 6 Definition of Environment A definition would include: The health of human beings; the quality of air, rivers, lakes, coastal and marine waters; the quality of food and drinking water; protection against noise; protection against the contamination of soil; protection against deforestation; a prudent use of natural resources; preservation of natural habitats, flora and fauna, landscape and all elements of natural heritage; climate; and the amenity and quality of residential areas.

Environmental Law 7 Regulation in order to protect, preserve and improve the quality of the environment Receives greater attention because of increased public awareness: 1. World Events 2. Global Environmental Problems (a) Ozone Depletion (b) Climate change / global warming (c) Transboundary air pollution / acidification 3. Membership of the European Union 4. Pressure / Interest Groups / Non-Governmental Organisations

Environmental Law 8 Environmental Law as a Discipline Grown in response to problems of pollution and public health Distinct sources Specialised laws; specific definitions Once Reactive – Now Proactive Command control regulation – Information and education – Instruments and incentives – Economic instruments

Environmental Law 9 Environmental Principles: Polluter pays 2. Precaution 3. Prevention 4. Sustainable Development 1. Proactive Policies 1. Waste minimisation 2. Integrated pollution protection and control

Environmental Law 10 s 1(2) Environmental Protection Act 1990 Defines the environment as: ‘consisting of all, or any, of the following media, namely the air, water and land; and the medium of air includes the air within buildings and the air within other natural or man-made structures above or below ground. , S 1(3) defines pollution of the environment S 1(4) ‘Harm’