Le Conseil d’État, fossoyeur des droits des tiers et de l’environnement ?

Abstract

The French Council of State : a gravedigger for the rights of third parties and the environment ? Thirty years after the critical articles of professors’ Prieur and Caballero about the ecological jurisprudence of the French Council of State, it was necessary to make a new assessment. The duality matter characterised by its jurisdictional and advisory function is still inconsistent. For the highest court, the environment is a matter of general interest, but the jurisprudence of Council State chooses to favor the economy whereas economy doesn’t mean economic development or social progess. The legal certainty of administrative authorizations is erected as an absolute rule. It amplifies the regulation process and causes an important regulatory inflation at the expense of the third parties and environment. Finally, this jurisprudence may threaten democracy.