Law firm in new legal threat over UK air pollution – BBC News
‘The UK government has been warned to drastically reduce air pollution or face renewed legal action.’
BBC News, 1st March 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: pollution
Regina (Seiont, Gwyrfai and Llyfni Anglers’ Society) v Natural Resources Wales – WLR Daily
‘“Damage” as defined in article 2(2) of Parliament and Council Directive 2004/35/EC on environmental liability was restricted to a deterioration in the environmental situation and did not, in addition, include the prevention of an existing, already damaged environmental state from achieving a level which was acceptable in environmental terms or a deceleration in such achievement.’
WLR Daily, 17th December 2015
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Off the scale: Sentencing very large companies for environmental crimes – Henderson Chambers
‘Earlier this month judgment was handed down by the Court of Appeal in R v Thames Water Utilities Ltd [2015] EWCA Crim 960, examining what should be done when a corporate offender’s turnover is so large that it falls outside the scale set down in the sentencing guidelines. This is the first case of its kind to come before the Court of Appeal since publication of the Definitive Guideline for Environmental Offences by the Sentencing Council in July 2014. Rejecting Thames Water’s appeal against a £250,000 fine, the court said that fines levied against very large companies “had to bring home the appropriate message to the directors and shareholders of the company” and could go as high as 100% of pre-tax profits. ‘
Henderson Chambers, June 2015
Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk
Supreme Court: no excuses, UK must comply with EU air pollution law – UK Human Rights Blog
‘R (ClientEarth) v Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Supreme Court, 29 April 2015. Bit of a history to this one, with 5 hearings so far. The short version is that in May 2013, the UK Supreme Court (here), faced with the UK’s non-compliance with EU Directive 2008/50 (nitrogen dioxide etc in air), decide to refer various issues to the CJEU in Luxembourg. In 2014, the CJEU said its piece, (C404-13 and my post here), and its views are now considered by the Supreme Court, hence this second SC judgment.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 30th April 2015
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
R (on the application of ClientEarth) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Respondent) – Supreme Court
Supreme Court, 29th April 2015
Court orders UK to cut pollution – BBC News
‘The UK’s highest court has ruled that the government must take immediate action to cut air pollution.’
BBC News, 29th April 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Supreme Court to rule on illegal pollution levels – The Independent
‘A Supreme Court ruling this week could finally force the Government to drastically speed up its plans to deal with dangerous levels of air pollution, as a long-running battle over illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide comes to a head.’
The Independent, 12th April 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
EU court rules UK government must clean up dangerous air pollution – The Guardian
‘The government will be forced to urgently clean up illegal air pollution in British cities following a ruling on Wednesday in the European court of justice. It is likely to see many diesel cars and heavy goods vehicles restricted from city centres within a few years.’
The Guardian, 19th November 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Private Law Remedies in Environmental Law – Mouse or Lion? – Thirty Nine Essex Street
‘With statutory regulation covering an ever increasing area in Environmental Law, the question arises as to whether private law remedies have a meaningful role to play in that arena?’
Full story (PDF)
Thirty Nine Essex Street, September 2014
Source: www.39essex.com
UK could face substantial EU fines after Supreme Court ruling on air pollution, says expert – OUT-LAW.com
“The UK could face legal proceedings and substantial fines from the European
Commission as a result of its failure to meet air pollution limits, an expert
has said.”
OUT-LAW.com, 3rd May 2013
Source: www.out-law.com
Supreme Court refers air pollution case to the EU Court – UK Human Rights Blog
“The Supreme Court has taken the UK’s lack of compliance with EU legislation, Directive 2008/50 (limiting the amount of nitrogen dioxide in air) much more seriously than the courts below. It has made a declaration that the UK is in breach and has referred questions of interpretation concerning the Directive and remedies to the CJEU.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 1st May 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
UK government failing legal duty on air pollution, supreme court rules – The Guardian
“The UK government has failed in its legal duty to protect people from the harmful effects of air pollution, the supreme court ruled on Wednesday.”
The Guardian, 1st May 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Supreme court may force air pollution legislation – The Guardian
“The supreme court could force the government to take steps to urgently reduce dangerous air pollution in many British cities to meet European limits, following a landmark hearing this week.”
The Guardian, 7th March 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
The polluted air that we breathe: Supreme Court to hear case – UK Human Rights Blog
“Back in the late spring, it seemed as if ClientEarth’s claim against Defra in respect of air pollution had run into the buffers. It had been refused by the Court of Appeal, in reasons given extempore: see my earlier post before Bailii received the judgment. Not many such refused cases make it to the Supreme Court, but this one has.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 15th January 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Court to force clean up of UK’s air pollution – The Independent
“The Government faces a Supreme Court action this week demanding that it slash air pollution levels by 2015. Lawyers acting for the environmental charity ClientEarth are making a legal challenge to force the coalition to cut levels of lethal nitrogen dioxide (NO2) to within European Commission limits.”
The Independent, 15th July 2012
Source: www.independent.co.uk
The air that we breathe: NGO’s appeal dismissed – UK Human Rights Blog
“A newsflash, really, confirming that ClientEarth’s claim for a declaration and mandatory order against Defra in respect of air pollution was refused by the Court of Appeal, in line with the judgment below. And the lack of a link to the CA’s judgment because it is not available, I imagine, because the judgment was extempore, and it is being transcribed at the moment. Sadly, that does not necessarily mean it gets onto the public access site, Bailli, in due course: the first instance decision still languishes on subscription-only sites. So all I know is that ClientEarth’s appeal did not find favour with Laws and Pitchford LJJ, sitting with Sir John Chadwick, but this, as ClientEarth explains, may not be the end of the line.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 5th June 2012
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Water part of contamination land definition is changed – OUT-LAW.com
“The statutory contaminated land regime has changed, with the principal change being to the definition of contaminated land. The changes took effect on 6 April.”
OUT-LAW.com, 11th April 2012
Source: www.out-law.com
Cornish waste incinerator case reversed- expectation not legitimate after all – UK Human Rights Blog
“The CA has just held that Collins J was wrong to hold (per my previous post) that the local NGO had a legitimate expectation that the Secretary of State would decide an air pollution issue, rather than leave it to the Environment Agency. In a nutshell, the Inspector (and hence the Secretary of State) was entitled to change his mind on this issue. So the expectation crumbled, and so did this judicial review to quash a decision to allow a waste incinerator to proceed.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 30th March 2012
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Defra to issue new guidelines for building on polluted land – The Guardian
“Building on land contaminated by industrial pollution or even asbestos will be made easier after government regulations are published today, experts claim.”
The Guardian, 7th February 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
