JUDICIAL PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS

Abstract

The article examines the constitutional foundations of the civil law and civil procedural regulations governing compensation for environmental damage in the Republic of Armenia, proceeding from the combined reading of Articles 62 and 12 of the Constitution, which establish that the institution of damage compensation carries not only a retrospective but also a preventive and regulatory significance.

The article demonstrates that the current civil legislation is built upon the classical model of liability, which fails to adequately address the public, multi-source, and long-term nature of environmental harm. Substantive law lacks statutory definitions of "damage caused to the environment" and "substantial environmental hazard," while procedural law provides no special rules on the burden of proof, frequently leaving the injured party facing a disproportionately heavy evidentiary burden.

For comparative analysis, the article examines the "polluter pays" principle enshrined in EU Directive 2004/35/EC and the German institution of preventive hazard abatement, both of which permit legal intervention at the stage of risk, before damage materialises.

As a result, the article proposes the introduction of a dedicated chapter on environmental damage into the Civil Code, the legislative codification of the aforementioned concepts, the exclusion of limitation periods in environmental cases, and, at the procedural level, the adoption of a mixed burden-of-proof model and an expedited procedure for preventive claims.