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Case Law C-72/12 (07/11/2013)

Type: Judgment

Authority: European Authorities: Euopean Union' Court of Justice

Date: 11/07/2013

Subject: The Court affirmed that Directive 2003/35/EC providing for public participation in respect of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to the environment must be interpreted as precluding the Member States from limiting the applicability of the provisions transposing that act to cases in which the legality of a decision is challenged on the ground that no environmental impact assessment was carried out, while not extending that applicability to cases in which such an assessment was carried out but was irregular. Directive 2003/35 must be interpreted as not precluding national courts from refusing to recognise impairment of a right within the meaning of that act if it is established that it is conceivable, having regard to the circumstances of the case, that the contested decision would not have been different without the procedural defect invoked by the applicant. None the less, that will be the case only if the court of law or body hearing the action does not in any way make the burden of proof fall on the applicant and makes its ruling, where appropriate, on the basis of the evidence provided by the developer or the competent authorities and, more generally, on the basis of all the documents submitted to it, taking into account, inter alia, the seriousness of the defect invoked and ascertaining, in particular, whether that defect has deprived the public concerned of one of the guarantees introduced with a view to allowing that public to have access to information and to be empowered to participate in decision-making.

Parties: Gemeinde Altrip e altri c. Land Rheinland-Pfalz

Classification: Justice - Art. 47 Justice: remedy

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