Courses -- Comparative Environmental Law

Poland and Comparative Environmental Law

Few countries rival Poland when it comes to the study of  comparative environmental law.  Communism left the country in a state of deep ecological crisis marked by widespread air and water pollution--among the worst in Europe.  The construction of massive steel mills in the vicinity of Krakow, the only major Polish city to survive World War II intact, contributed by the 1980s to the City’s official designation as an “ecological disaster area.”  Acid rain and other forms of air pollution threatened the health of Krakow’s residents, and damaged its centuries-old monuments.  Today Krakow’s air quality is much improved, as you will be able to see for yourself during your visit to the city.  In Krakow, and elsewhere in Poland, there has been a drastic reduction in levels of air pollutants, most notably particulates, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, as a result of a fundamental restructuring of energy and industrial practices during the 1990s.  Nonetheless, air pollution remains a significant problem. Full compliance with European Union (EU) directives on environmental policy, a precondition of Poland’s accession to the EU in 2004, is yet to be achieved.  The European Commission has repeatedly taken Poland to the European Court of Justice over various environmental violations, most recently in February of this year. 

Using Poland as a point of departure and recurrent reference, the course will explore two key issues in comparative environmental law.  The first explores the roots of cross-national differences in regulatory responses to environmental risks.  Our emphasis in this connection would be on the comparison between the United States and the European Union.  The second will concentrate on the spread of American-modeled environmental citizen suits in countries worldwide, and the potential and limitations of this legal instrument.  Through focused on environmental law and policy, the course is designed convey comparative perspectives and conceptual tools that will be applicable across a wide range of comparative legal fields.

References:

Photograph: http://www.rp.pl/galeria/10,1,589045.html

John Clark and Daniel H. Cole, Environmental Protection in Transition:  Economic, Legal and Socio-Political Perspectives on Poland.  Ashgate (1998).

Halina Szejnwald Brown, “Transformation of the Environmental Regulatory System in Poland during the 1990s,” 19 Knowledge, Technology and Policy 26-43 (2007).

European Environment Agency, “Air Pollution (Poland),”  November 26, 2010. http://www.eea.europa.eu/soer/countries/pl/soertopic_view?topic=air%20pollution

“Commission asks Poland to comply with EU water quality legislation,” Europa: Press Release.  February 16,2011.  http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/174&format=HTML