Ustawowy greenwashing, czyli o ograniczonej skuteczności ochrony środowiska za pomocą prawa prywatnego z perspektywy państwa autorytarnego i demokratycznego
Statutory Greenwashing: On the Limited Effectiveness of Environmental Protection through Private Law from the Perspective of an Authoritarian and a Democratic State

Summary/Abstract: This article aims at examining whether private law can effectively protect the environment. The research problem regards the incompatibility between private law’s individual-focused structure and its potential for protecting collective environmental interests. The hypothesis is that private law cannot effectively safeguard the environment due to the autonomy of civil subjects and voluntary nature of sanctions, irrespective of whether it makes part of a legal system in democratic or authoritarian state. Using comparative method, by considering the Chinese Civil Code, German BGB, and Polish Civil Code, the author evaluates how private law incorporates public environmental standards through private law provisions. As a conclusion the author suggests that ‘green’ private law reforms risk becoming mere legislative greenwashing. Since civil sanctions depend on private interests, enforcement probability drops to zero when environmental protection conflicts with individual interests, eliminating preventive effects. States should pursue substantive environmental policies rather than symbolic legislative changes.

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