Stepanenko, V.S. Principles of the environmental law of the European Union

Abstract: The environmental legal literature provides detailed analysis of the definition, key directions and tendencies of the European environmental policy, as well as its basic (fundamental) principles, their influence upon the contents of normative legal acts of the European Union and its Member States, judicial practice of the EU and the supranational courts. Based upon the main goal of environmental law and policy national environmental legal systems of some states have developed a broader approach to understanding the nature of environmental principle, while not departing from the general principles. In a number of cases formulation of environmental principles is not limited to those mentioned in the Treaty establishing the European Community. As the studies of foreign specialists have shown, the environmental principles form its own real legal field where such principles are transferred into more detailed national legislation or political documents. Topical disputes arise regarding whether the system of principles of this legal branch should be classified within an open or a closed system, and the same is true towards the principles of environmental policy of the European Union.

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