Scope of scientific inquiries in environmental impact assessment

ATA/304/1996Court of Justice / Administrative ChamberMay 29, 1996Dismissed

Extracted by Omnilex

Omnilex summary

The court held that, in an environmental impact assessment, authorities cannot require complete scientific investigations for every possible environmental harm without regard to its relevance in the конкрет case. The decisive criterion is the impacts that can in principle be expected and their concrete consequences. The fact that investigations would be difficult or costly does not by itself define the scope of the duty to investigate.

Omnilex headnote

LPEC art. 9 al. 2; scope of investigation in environmental impact assessment: the authority may not demand exhaustive scientific studies for every conceivable impairment irrespective of its relevance to the case. The extent of the inquiry is determined by the impacts that can reasonably be expected in principle and by their concrete consequences; neither financial burden nor technical difficulty is a decisive criterion. The duty to investigate is thus limited by the foreseeable material significance of the environmental effects (consid. unspecified).

Full text

Descripteurs

IMPACT SUR L'ENVIRONNEMENT; PROTECTION DES EAUX; PECHE; COMPENSATION ECOLOGIQUE; IEA

Normes

LPEC.9 al.2

Résumé

On ne peut, dans le cadre d'une étude d'impact, exiger des investigations scientifiques complètes pour chaque atteinte éventuelle, indépendemment de leur portée dans le cas concrêt. Cette exigence ne peut néanmoins mesurer en fonction des difficultés financières ou techniques liées à ces investigations. Le critère décisif demeure celui des atteintes auxquelles on peut en principe s'attendre et de leurs éventuelles conséquences concrêtes.

Keywords

environmental impact assessmentwater protectionfisheriesecological compensationscientific investigation

Extracted by Omnilex

Key legal questions extracted by Omnilex

Key legal question

Whether an environmental impact assessment requires complete scientific investigations for every conceivable harm, regardless of its relevance in the concrete case.

Extracted holding

No. The scope of the required investigations depends on the harms that can be expected in principle and on their likely concrete consequences.

Extracted reasoning

The court held that an EIA does not demand exhaustive scientific inquiries into every possible impairment. The decisive criterion is not the financial or technical difficulty of the studies, but the type of impacts that may reasonably be expected and their concrete effects in the case at hand.

Scope of scientific inquiries in environmental impact assessmentAI generated