Current Environmental Enforcement Issues: Some International Developments and Their Implications for the UK

This article will examine enforcement possibilities available in the UK and the domestic implications of some international developments. This will involve an evaluation of the regulatory system in relation to environmental protection, followed by an overview of alternative methods of enforcement which include opportunities for the individual and/or non-governmental organisation (NGO) to use EC law, judicial review and the common law as well as the prospects provided by expanded statutory civil liability and any developments that take place in relation to human rights. While the locus of the human rights discourse seems to have moved from a substantive to a procedural perspective, this article will argue that, given the shortcomings of current (and proposed) methods of enforcement, there should be a realignment of the debate. It is advanced that such a right would underpin environmental protection to the extent that it would need to be considered within all aspects of enforcement and be in a position to override other rights.