What is environmental law?
(Droit de l'environnement)

Environmental law refers to the rules that regulates the use, the management and the protection of the environment against nuisances and damage.

This field of law encompasses national legislation (for example: the Environmental Charter (Charte de l'environnement), the Environment Code (Code de l'environnement), the Forest Code (Code forestier)...) and also international laws (for example: the UE directives on the conservation of wild birds and natural habitats).

Environmental law is a vast area of law that aims to achieve multiple goals:

Prevention of environmental damage:

Natural sites with remarkable characteristics can be put under a protection regime (for example: natural parks, Natura 2000 sites...).

Multiple legal rules and procedure regulate building construction:

Autohrizations or permits that varies depending on the natural environment or the nature of the project (for example: declaration or authorization for Classified Installations for Environmental Protection (ICPE) or the installations, constructions, and activities (IOTA), forest cleaning authorization (autorisation de défrichement)...),

Public information or consultation on projects of perticular importance (for example: public inquiry (enquête publique)),

Mandatory advice from a competent autjority (for example: the environmental authority (l'autorité environnementale)...

Punishment of environmental offences:

« Criminal environmnental law » is another branch of environmental law.

Building a construction without a permit or an authorization is an offence, as well as illegal waste disposing, or hazardous substance release...

Reparation of environmental damage:

Environmental liability is a new field of environmental law which goal is to to repair ecological damage, born with the unfamous rulling of « the Erika case ».