Systemic Breaches of EU Environmental Law and Techniques of Judicial Engagement with Science: the Underused Potential of Infringement Proceedings

Mariolina Eliantonio*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Environmental law has long been an area of concern in terms of correct implementation and enforcement. In this context, the Commission's enforcement focus has been on systemic breaches of environmental law (that is, breaches that form part of a pattern of individual breaches that, taken together, because of their repeated or widespread nature, have a significant effect on the environment). Proving the existence of such breaches in environmental law presents a number of peculiar features, because of the scientifically-loaded questions which underlie environmental legislation. The aim of this article is to relate the established approach of the CJEU towards scientific uncertainty to the specific situation in which the Commission asserts that a breach of EU environmental law has a systemic nature. It will show that, while the CJEU has been sensitive to the systemic nature of the claims brought forward by the Commission by using some of the procedural tools at its disposal, its general reticence to engage with the substantive claims at stake might have the potential to reduce the effectiveness of the infringement proceedings as a tool to adequately pursue systemic breaches of EU environmental legislation.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)948-961
Number of pages14
JournalGerman Law Journal
Volume24
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 29 Sept 2023

Keywords

  • environmental Law
  • environmental legislation
  • European Union
  • infringement proceedings
  • judicial review
  • scientific complexity
  • systemic breach

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Systemic Breaches of EU Environmental Law and Techniques of Judicial Engagement with Science: the Underused Potential of Infringement Proceedings'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this