Constitutional Court strengthens environmental rights: Nature Conservation Act in danger!

Constitutional Court strengthens environmental rights: Nature Conservation Act in danger!

1060 Wien, Österreich - A pioneering judgment of the Constitutional Court (VfGH) was issued in Austria on January 8, 2025, which has far -reaching effects on environmental protection. The VfGH declared the exclusion of the suspensive effect on complaints according to the Upper Austrian Nature Conservation Act for unconstitutional and thus raised the previous rejection of complaints from the Environmental Labor Association (UWD) and the nature conservation association Austria. This means that further gas bores that were planned in the Jaidhaus nature reserve in winter 2024 have to be stopped for the time being, as these were approved under the constitutionally invalid basics. Franz Maier, President of the Environmental Dach Association, described the judgment as "great success for environmental protection" and emphasized the need for a reform of the Upper Austria Nature Conservation Act to prevent such interventions in nature in the future. As ots.at , the previous approvals are partly on a constitutional basis has been granted.

The decision also stipulates that the state administrative court of Upper Austria has to abolish the approval of the gas bores. This judgment not only strengthens environmental rights, but also the principle of the rule of law in the sense of the Aarhus Convention, which grants citizens more say in environmental law. "A flat -rate exclusion of the suspensive effect could mean irreversible damage to existing ecosystems," said the President of the Austria Nature Conservation Association, Thomas Wrbka. The judgment could therefore have direct consequences for the approval process of future projects in nature and environmental protection. The controversial paragraph 43a of the Upper Austrian Nature Conservation Act, which regulated this exclusion, must be reformed in order to strengthen the legal framework for environmental protection measures, such as BVerwG.de The application of the rule of law is crucial to ensure that economic interests are not placed on the protection of nature.