The Environmental Impact Assessment and military conflicts – an outline of the problem area

• Authors: Sergiusz Urban

Title variants

PL

Ocena oddziaływania na środowisko a konflikty zbrojne – zarys problematyki

Abstracts

PL

Ocena oddziaływania na środowisko (OOŚ) jest prawnym proceduralnym narzędziem, które pozwala zidentyfikować, przewidzieć, ocenić i zapobiec lub złagodzić wpływ planowanego przedsięwzięcia na środowisko. Nieodłącznym elementem tego procesu jest udział społeczeństwa, który zawsze powinien być zagwarantowany. OOŚ jest regulowana przez wewnętrzne prawo ochrony środowiska poszczególnych państw członkowskich Unii Europejskiej, ale niebagatelny wpływ na te regulacje wywiera unijna dyrektywa OOŚ (dyrektywa 2011/92/UE tekst ujednolicony) oraz konwencje międzynarodowe, zwłaszcza Konwencja ESPOO. Przepisy unijne oraz traktaty międzynarodowe regulujące kluczowe aspekty OOŚ nie precyzują, czy konflikty zbrojne wpływają na procedury OOŚ, a jeśli tak – to w jaki sposób, w szczególności czy w takich wyjątkowych okolicznościach procedura OOŚ jest nadal wymagana czy też może zostać odroczona do czasu ustania konfliktu lub nawet pominięta. Z tego powodu bardzo ważne było ustalenie, czy obowiązki związane z OOŚ określone w prawie unijnym i międzynarodowym ulegają zawieszeniu, czy też należy je realizować również podczas konfliktów zbrojnych. Przeprowadzone badania wykazały, że w ww. aktach prawnych nie ma przepisów, które wprost regulowałyby wpływ konfliktów zbrojnych na obowiązki związane z procedurami OOŚ. Ponadto, aktualne orzecznictwo i doktryna nie dają jednoznacznej odpowiedzi na temat zakresu stosowania międzynarodowego prawa ochrony środowiska podczas konfliktu zbrojnego. Często tłumaczy się to tym, że prawo ochrony środowiska nie jest jeszcze w pełni ukształtowane w tym zakresie i że brak jest jednolitego, powszechnie podzielanego poglądu na temat tego, w jaki sposób odnosi się ono do międzynarodowego prawa humanitarnego. Na podstawie wyników badań zaproponowano wnioski, które odnoszą się do zagadnienia stosowania OOŚ podczas konfliktów zbrojnych oraz sugestię uzupełnienia omawianych regulacji prawnych. W niniejszym artykule omówione zostaną najważniejsze wyniki badań przeprowadzonych na ten ważny i bardzo aktualny temat.

EN

The environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a legal, procedural tool that allows identifying, predicting, evaluating and preventing or mitigating the impacts of a planned project on the environment. An inherent element of this process is public participation that shall be assured at all times. An EIA is regulated by domestic environmental laws of a given country, but an imminent influence on these regulations is exerted by EU EIA Directive (Directive 2011/92/EU text codified) and international conventions, especially the ESPOO Convention. EU legislation and international EIA-focused treaties do not determine whether armed conflicts affect the EIA procedures and, if the answer is positive, in what way, especially whether the EIA procedure remains required under these exceptional circumstances or it may be postponed until cessation of the conflict or even omitted. For this reason, it was of high importance to determine whether the EIA-related obligations set by EU and international statute (conventional) laws are suspended or remain valid and in force during armed conflicts. The research revealed that the above-mentioned acts do not have provisions that explicitly regulate the effect of armed conflicts on the obligations relating to the EIA procedures. Furthermore, current jurisprudence and doctrine do not provide a clear answer as regards the scope of application of international environmental law during an armed conflict. It is often explained by the fact that environmental law is not yet fully formed in that respect and it is still not commonly agreed how it relates to international humanitarian law. Based on findings of the research, some conclusions are proposed that aim to provide advice on the application of EIA during armed conflicts and suggestions to complement relevant legal regulations. This article will discuss the main results of the study conducted on this important and very up-to-date subject.

Keywords

EN

EIA; armed conflicts; environment

PL

OOŚ; konflikty zbrojne; ochrona środowiska

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Opolski
• Journal: Opolskie Studia Administracyjno-Prawne
• Year: 2023
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 211-222

Dates

published

2023

Contributors

author

Sergiusz Urban

• WKB Lawyers

References

• Convention (I) for the amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in armed Forces in the Field. Geneva, 12 August 1949, Final record of the Diplomatic Conference of Geneva of 1949, Vol. I, Federal Political Department, Bern.
• Convention on access to information, Public Participation in Decision-making and access to Justice in environmental Matters, adopted on 25th June 1998 in Aarhus, Denmark, Dz.U. 2003.78.706.
• Convention on environmental impact assessment in a Transboundary Context, adopted on 25 February 1991 in ESPOO, Finland, Dz.U. 1999.96.1100.
• Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001 on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment, OJ L 197, 21.7.2001.
• Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (codification), OJ L 26, 28.1.2012.
• The Charter of the United Nations, signed on 26 June 1945, in San Francisco.
• Decision VI/2, adopted by the Meeting of the Parties to the Convention on environmental impact assessment in a Transboundary Context at its sixth session, 2014, ECE/MP.EIA/20. Add.1 – ECE/MP.EIA/SEA/4.Add.1, 6–8.
• Belousova, Katerina. 2022. Environmentalists criticized the closure of access to eco-information for Ukrainians. https://ecopolitic.com.ua/en/news/prirodoohoronci-rozkritikuvali-jmovirne-zakrittya-ukraincyam-dostupu-do-ekoinformacii-2/, last access 30.09.2023.
• Bothe, Michael, Carl Bruch, Jordan Diamond, and David Jensen. 2010. International law protecting the environment during armed conflict: gaps and opportunities. International Review of the Red Cross 92 (879). https://international-review.icrc.org/sites/default/files/irrc-879-bothe-bruch-diamond-jensen.pdf, last access: 30.09.2023.
• Comments of the republic of Armenia related to Draft Findings and recommendations of implementation Committee of the Convention on environmental impact assessment in a Transboundary Context 2012. https://unece.org/DaM/env/documents/2019/ece/restart/armenia/armenian_comments_to_draft_F_r_S3_140812.pdf, last access: 30.09.2023.
• Covino-Kerpelman, Laura. 2012. Controlling implementation. Environmental Policy and Law 42 (3): 175–177.
• Draft articles on the effects of armed conflicts on treaties, with commentaries. 2011. https://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/commentaries/1_10_2011.pdf, last access: 30.09.2023.
• Draft principles on protection of the environment in relation to armed conflicts. 2022. https://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/draft_articles/8_7_2022.pdf, last access: 30.09.2023.
• Gasser, Hans-Peter. 1994. Guidelines for Military Manuals and instructions on the Protection of the environment in Times of armed Conflict. International Review of the Red Cross 36 (311): 230–237.
• Gembarska, Valentina. 2022. All conclusions of EIA issued during the war may be canceled after one formal reason. https://ecopolitic.com.ua/en/news/all-conclusions-of-eia-issued-during-the-war-may-be-canceled-after-one-formal-reason-says-lyudmila-tsyganok/, last access: 30.09.2023.
• Geneva Conventions. https://www.icrc.org/en/war-and-law/treaties-customary-law/geneva-conventions, last access: 30.09.2023.
• Guidance document regarding application of exemptions under the environmental impact assessment Directive (Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU) – articles 1(3), 2(4) and 2(5) (2019/C386/05), 2019, Official Journal of the European Union C 386/12.
• How is the Term “Armed Conflict” Defined in International Humanitarian Law?, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Opinion Paper, 2008. https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/assets/files/other/opinion-paper-armed-conflict.pdf, last access: 30.09.2023.
• Implementation of the Directive 2001/42 on the assessment of the effects of Certain Plans and Programmes on the environment. 2004. https://ec.europa.eu/environment/archives/eia/pdf/030923_sea_guidance.pdf, last access: 30.09.2023.
• Legality of the Threat or use of nuclear Weapons, advisory Opinion, 1.C.J. reports 1996, p. 226.
• Maruma Mrema, Elisabeth, Carl Bruch, and Jordan Diamond. 2009. Protecting the environment During armed Conflict. An inventory and analysis of international Law, United Nations environment Programme.
• van Rossem, Jan Willem. 2013. The autonomy of EU Law: More is Less? in: Between Autonomy and Independence. The EU Legal Order Under the Influence of International Organisations, (eds.) Ramses A. Wessel, Steven Blockmans, 13–46. The Hague: T.C.M. Asser Press.
• Report of the International Law Commission, Seventy-third session (18 april–3 June and 4 July–5 August 2022) United Nations a/77/10 (advance version of 12 August 2022). https://legal.un.org/ilc/reports/2022/english/a_77_10_advance.pdf, last access: 30.09.2023.
• Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development Rrio de Janeiro, 3–14 June 1992. https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/generalassembly/docs/globalcompact/a_COnF.151_26_Vol.i_Declaration.pdf, last access: 30.09.2023.
• Smis, Stefaan, and Kim Van der Borght. 1999. The advisory Opinion on the Legality of the Threat or use of nuclear Weapons. Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law 27: 347–387.
• The Geneva Conventions and their Commentaries. 2023. https://www.icrc.org/en/war-and-law/treaties-customary-law/geneva-conventions, last access: 30.09.2023.
• The Practical guide to Humanitarian Law. https://guide-humanitarian-law.org/content/article/3/non-state-armed-groups/, last access: 30.09.2023.

Identifiers

DOI

10.25167/osap.5070

Biblioteka Nauki

29519337