When significant damage occurs to protected species and habitats, soil, inland and marine waters, the responsibility for the costs of taking preventive and/or remedial measures lies with the operator whose activity caused such damage, in accordance with the “polluter pays” principle. This legal mechanism is prescribed by the Law on Environmental Damage Liability, which transposes Directive 2004/35/EC on environmental liability into the Montenegrin legal system.
Its practical application, exceptions, procedures, and challenges were discussed at the workshop “Strengthening Capacities for the Application and Implementation of the Environmental Liability Directive,” held today in Podgorica. The workshop was organized by the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Region Development, and the project Strategic Legal Advisory Center for Montenegro (PLAC), funded by the European Union.
The workshop was led by Tanja Pucelj Vidović, an expert of the PLAC project, who presented the legal framework for applying the institute of environmental damage liability in cases of significant damage, pointing to the scope of application, legal limitations, exceptions, and the importance of accurate interpretation of regulations, as well as Slovenian experiences in practical application.
“The institute of environmental damage liability under the Directive and the Law on Environmental Damage Liability has a strictly limited legal scope. It is focused on significant damage caused by professional activities that pose a risk to the environment and health, and the financial responsibility of the operators who carry them out. When a specific event does not fall within the legal framework of environmental damage liability under the Directive, solutions for protecting the integrity of natural values must be sought through other protection mechanisms and instruments of environmental law. This is precisely why understanding the legal boundaries of application and the use of other, complementary, instruments is just as important as the implementation of this law itself,” emphasized Pucelj Vidović.
During the workshop, participants discussed the legal requirements of the Directive and the Law on Environmental Damage Liability, the substantive and procedural steps competent authorities should take in the event of damage, as well as the rights and obligations of operators, and possibilities for involving the interested public.
A special part of the workshop was dedicated to practical examples from European and national practice, which enabled a detailed discussion on challenges in determining the significance of the damage, selecting remediation measures, determining implementation costs, and the legal grounds for exemption from liability for covering remediation costs.
This workshop represents a significant contribution to strengthening institutional and professional capacities in the field of environmental protection and aligning the Montenegrin legal system with the European Union’s environmental acquis, and contributes to fulfilling the measures from the Action Plan for meeting the closing benchmarks in Chapter 27.
STRATEGIC LEGAL ADVISORY CENTER FOR MONTENEGRO (PLAC)