A decade of jurisprudence

Abstract

Malta acceded to the Aarhus Convention in December 1998 and ratified it in April 2002, prior to its accession to the European Union. Accordingly, the concept of access to justice was introduced into the Maltese legal framework in 2002 and has since evolved through successive legislative reforms. In 2016 the environmental law landscape had changed significantly, as a benchmark decision to give the environment its own distinct legal personality was taken by the establishment of the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA), following the demerger of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA). The distinct legal personality that ERA acquired in 2016 has bestowed upon it numerous functions that emanate from the Environment Protection Act (EPA). This development has significantly strengthened the environmental role within Malta’s evolving administrative legal landscape. Several other administrative entities were also established, shifting responsibilities that were traditionally handled by government departments to various authorities and agencies.

The core functions of ERA as established by the EPA are several, ranging from policy maker to decision-taker with an operative role which in the past decade has engraved ERA’s role as environmental regulator. This paper does not purport to provide an exhaustive account of relevant jurisprudence; rather, it offers a selective analysis of case law over the past decade. This paper focuses on some of those cases in which the ERA has been a party, whether as plaintiff or defendant.