Controlul jurisdicţional asupra acordului de mediu: de la verificarea formală la analiza efectelor reale asupra mediului. Studiu de caz
Judicial review of the environmental permit: from formal verification to an analysis of the real effects on the environment. Case study

Summary/Abstract: This material stems from the analysis of Civil Judgment No. 1169 of 17 February 2015, delivered by the Trib. Bucharest, 2nd Administrative and Tax Litigation Division, in a case concerning the judicial review of the lawfulness of an environmental permit issued for extending the mining operations at the Pinoasa open pit mine. The issues raised in the case proved interesting in that they required the resolution of legal questions on the lawfulness of the environmental impact assessment procedure, the analysis of the cumulative effects of the projects to be implemented, and the access of non governmental organisations to justice in environmental protection matters. When examining the legal act whose nullity was sought, the court had to analyse, as a whole, the manner in which that act—the environmental permit—complies with the legislation on the impact which the act, in context, has on the environment, thus going beyond a review based solely on the act itself. The environmental impact assessment is an essential legal mechanism for preventing environmental degradation, as it allows to identify and analyse a project’s potential effects before it is authorised. The paper reviews the court’s arguments in the context of national legislation and European Union law, highlighting the role of judicial review in ensuring compliance with the principles of sustainable development and environmental protection.

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