The multifaceted concept of the term ‘environmental damage’ in the framework of the Directive 2004/35/EC on Environmental Liability (ELD)

摘要

The "environmental damage" constitutes a multidimensional and complicated notion in the framework of environmental law. Regarding the environmental liability, in particular, it functions both as condition and as consequence of its activation. However, its multifaceted nature has created over the time important difficulties in dealing efficiently with the harmful effects of environmental disasters or degradations. The universality and the urgency of the modern environmental phenomena as well as their diffuse character without regional and temporal limits tests sorely the efficiency of the environmental liability schemes in national, European and international level. On these grounds, much ink has been spilled over the question of an effective treatment of the uncertain and no linear evolution of the modern environmental damages and risks. In the EU landscape, the adoption of the Environmental Liability Directive 2004/35/EC (ELD) by putting forward as a priority the prevention and reparation of environmental damage in European level via a regime based on administrative law has sparked new scientific discussions about the notion of "environmental damage". However, despite the ambitious and innovative character of this initiative, its conceptual discrepancies in combination with its technical deficiencies have practically thrown up more questions than they have solved. On this basis, it is essential to reshape the design of the "environmental damage" based on the joint work of jurists, economists and experts of the natural sciences by virtue of the complicated, dynamic and multifaceted nature of environmental issues.