AUTHORS: Diana Gorun

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ABSTRACT: The subject matter of environmental law is the social relations that arise in connection with the preservation and development of the natural and artificial environment. The 'polluter pays' principle is the concept according to which the polluter has to pay for environmental pollution. By payment is meant material, financial, ethical, aesthetic, social and legal responsibility. According to the Environmental Law, the 'Polluter Pays' principle requires the polluter to bear the costs of implementing pollution prevention measures or to pay for pollution damage. The 'polluter pays' principle expresses the idea that environmental polluter will be subject to the rigors of the law, whether it is guilty or not. However, it is more effective to develop policies that address the causes of pollution than to address finding solutions to the effects already caused. The author was involved as a lawyer in some of the cases presented in the paper.

KEYWORDS: polluter, environment, biodiversity, prevention, pollution, damage, liability, compensation, principle

REFERENCES:

[1] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/PDF/?

[2] Andrada Mihaela Trusca, The Particularities of Legal Liability in Environmental Law, Ed. Universul Juridic, Bucharest, 2012, pag. 7 - 9

[3] Andrada Mihaela Trusca, the quoted work, pag. 10 - 12

[4] From a historical point of view, this principle was formulated for the first time internationally at the OECD in 1987, and at European level, the Maastricht Treaty includes the precautionary rule

[5] This provision was first adopted in 1989 in the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, entitled 'Our Future of All'.

[6] This principle is in line with the C.E. 35/2003 which provides for public participation in the development of certain environmental plans and programs.

[7] Directive no. 2004/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage

[8] Law no. 137/1995, Law on Environmental Protection. in force from 30 December 1995 till 28 January 2006, being repealed and replaced by Emergency Ordinance no. 195/2005

[9] Emergency Ordinance no. 68/2007 on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and repair of environmental damage

[10] Article 5 of Emergency Ordinance no. 195/2005, stipulating that the state recognizes the right to a healthy environment for all people

[11] Annex III to Directive no. 2004/35/EC

[12] Council Directive no. 2008/99/EC

[13] Decision no. 215/22.12.2012 issued by Ilfov County Environmental Protection Agency from Ilfov County. Ilfov is a region nearby the capital of Romania, Bucharest.

[14] Penal sentence no. 783/09.10.2013 of Bucharest Court of Instance 1st Criminal Section

[15] Civil sentence no. 3779/20.05.2015 of Bucharest Court of Appeal, 2nd Administrative and Fiscal Section

[16] Civil sentence no. 1364/01.03.2016 of Bucharest Court of Instance, 2nd Administrative and Fiscal Section

[17] Article 451 of Civil Procedure Code, regarding the amount of trial costs, stipulating in paragraph (1) that ’’The court costs consist of judicial stamp duties and legal stamp, fees of lawyers, experts and specialists appointed under art. 330 para. (3), the amounts due to witnesses for travel and the losses caused by the necessity of attending the trial, the transport costs and, where appropriate, the accommodation, as well as any other expenses necessary for the smooth running of the trial.”

[18] The first study on the need to recognize environmental law as a distinct branch of law belongs to Mircea Duţu, entitled 'About necessity, the concept and the defining features of ecological law, in Revista Română de Drept nr. 5/1989, pag.21-28

[19] Daniela Marinescu, Maria-Cristina Petre - Treaty of Environmental Law, ED. Universitara, Bucharest, 2014, pag.31-33

[20] Ernest Lupan, Environmental Law, Ed. Argonaut, Cluj-Napoca, 1998, pag.47- 48

[21] Article 35 of the Constitution - The right to a healthy environment Paragraph (1) The State recognizes the right of any person to a healthy and ecologically balanced environment. Paragraph (2) The state shall provide the legal framework for the exercise of this right. Paragraph (3) Natural and legal persons have the duty to protect and improve the environment.

[22] Constituţia României din 2003 stabileşte că tratatele internaţionale la care România este parte sau le-a ratificat fac parte din dreptul intern şi, ca urmare, ele se aplică în măsura în care nu aduc atingere prevederilor constituţionale (art.11).

[23] Ion Muraru, Constitutional Law and Political Institutions, Ed. Actami, Bucharest, 1997, pag.19

[24] Liviu Pop, About the method of regulation in civil law, in „Studia Universitatis” Babeş-Bolyai, Jurisprudenţia nr.1/1997, pag.49 - 54

[25] For details on the environmental law report/relationship, please see Ernest Lupan, the quoted work, Volume I, 1996, Chapter II and Daniela Marinescu, the quoted work, Chapter. II