Enforcing European Union
Environmental Law
Friday, 29 November 2013
2-6pm
UCC Brookfield Health Science Complex
Lecture Theatre G01
International, European Union (EU) and national environmental law continues to evolve at a rapid pace making it difficult to keep up with new developments and to appreciate their significance in practice. The interactions between the Aarhus Convention, EU law and Irish environmental law are proving to be particularlyconvoluted and unpredictable. This is especially true in the context of enforcement matters. The Aarhus Convention is featuring more frequently in litigation before both the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the Irish courts. The CJEU continues to adopt a robust approach to access to the courts to enforce environmental law as evidenced by its ruling in Edwards (Case C-260/11) and the Opinion of Advocate General Kokott in Commission v United Kingdom(Case C-530/11). At the domestic level, the special costs rules that apply to certain categories of environmental litigation in Ireland remain controversial and are taking considerable time to bed down. There is now a substantial body of jurisprudence from the High Court interpreting the special costs rules, yet considerable uncertainty persists as to their scope and practical application. Nevertheless, there have been some interesting developments in terms of access to justice to enforce planning and environmental law. The ruling in Hunter v Nurendale Ltd [2013] IEHC 430 on costs protection is a ground-breaking development in this context.
This conference is intended to build on the series of environmental enforcement conferences hosted by UCC Faculty of Law in recent years. It aims to identify contemporary issues in the enforcement of EU environmental law, to consider innovative solutions to the ongoing enforcement challenge and to foster discussion among participants. At a more general level, it seeks to provide accurate, up to date information for participants on issues relating to enforcement, including the impact of the Aarhus Convention in practice.
This conference is supported by funding from the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government and from the Department of An Taoiseach Communicating Europe Initiative.
Programme
Twitter:#envlawucc
2.00-2.15Opening Remarks
Áine Ryall, Faculty of Law, UCC
Session 1 Chair: Judge Anthony M Collins
General Court of the European Union
2.15-2.45Margaret Gray BL
‘Enforcing EU Environmental Law: Developments in the Jurisprudence of the CJEU’
2.45-3.15Tom Flynn BL
'Enforcing EU Environmental Law: Developments at the Domestic Level'
3.15-3.45Q & A
3.45-4.15Tea/Coffee
Session 2Chair: David Holland SC
4.15-4.45Liam Cashman, Environment Directorate-General,
European Commission
‘New Commission initiative on environmental inspections – what it might mean for future enforcement’
4.45-5.15Andrew Jackson, Natural Environment Officer and in-housesolicitor An Taisce
‘Democratising Enforcement: Thinking Beyond the State’
5.15-6.00Q & A and General Discussion
There is no charge to attend this event, but advance booking is essential as places are limited.
If you book a place, and subsequently find that you cannot attend, please cancel in advance so that your place may be reallocated.
Continuing Professional Development: 3.5 hours General CPD Group Study.
The Faculty of Law reserves the right to substitute and to rearrange presentations as necessary.
The venue is located in the UCC Brookfield complex on College Road
Parking at the main UCC campus, and at the Brookfield complex, is extremely limited.
Booking details
Please book at the following link:
Enquiries: Noreen Delea, Events Manager, Faculty of Law, UCC
Email: Phone: 021 490 3220
Details of Faculty of Law events are available at: