Diluting the law: Time and the production of compliance with European environmental standards

As of the 1980s, the European Court of Justice and infringement proceedings have become important instruments for the European Commission to encourage Member States to comply with European environmental law. This article examines how such compliance is achieved, through a case study of the infringem...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inReview of agricultural, food and environmental studies Vol. 104; no. 2; pp. 193 - 216
Main Author Déplaude, Marc-Olivier
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Paris Springer Paris 01.06.2023
Springer Nature B.V
Springer
Subjects
Agricultural Economics
Agriculture
Case studies
Compliance
Contamination
Decision making
Dilution
Drinking water
Economics
Economics and Finance
Environmental Economics
Environmental law
Environmental policy
Fines & penalties
Humanities and Social Sciences
Infringement
International courts
Law
Life Sciences
Norms
Outdoor air quality
Pollution
Research Article
Rivers
Rule of law
France
Agricultural pollution
Time
Compliance
France
European Union
Environmental law
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Summary:As of the 1980s, the European Court of Justice and infringement proceedings have become important instruments for the European Commission to encourage Member States to comply with European environmental law. This article examines how such compliance is achieved, through a case study of the infringement proceedings against France relating to the contamination of several rivers containing nitrates in the 1990s–2000s. It shows that compliance with European environmental law can be analysed as the result of a process during which the meaning of European norms and the modes of compliance with said norms are debated. This, being a lengthy process, gives actors the opportunity to play with time, particularly with a view to obtaining new extensions and renegotiating the interpretation and conditions of the application of norms. This may result in a gradual dilution of the rule of law, in as much as its modes of application can be made considerably more flexible.
ISSN:2425-6870
2425-6897
DOI:10.1007/s41130-023-00197-3