Administrative justice

In France, respect for fundamental freedoms is guaranteed by the organization of the various jurisdictions, which are based essentially on impartiality and the possibility of appealing against judgments.

These are the rights and freedoms recognized by the French Constitution, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, the Preamble to the 1946 Constitution and the Charter of the Environment, as well as the fundamental principles to which these texts refer.

These rights may be inherent to the human person, social or so-called "third-generation" rights, such as those set out in the Charter of the Environment, which affirms everyone's right to "Live in an environment that is balanced and respectful of health", and which enshrines the notion of sustainable development and the precautionary principle.

There are two types of jurisdiction: judicial (civil and criminal) and administrative. Generally speaking, proceedings relating to environmental regulations come under the latter jurisdiction.

Indeed, an ICPE operator (or potential operator) can challenge the decision before the administrative court:

• the prefectoral order refusing his request for authorization to operate;

• the special requirements set out in the operating permit;

• formal notices issued by the prefect (to carry out work or cease operations);

• the amount of the deposit set by the administrative authority (the Prefect) to carry out work in order to remedy failure to comply with the operating conditions imposed on it within a given timeframe.

An individual, a legal entity, an association or a local authority (petitioner) can appeal to the administrative courts when they wish to contest an administrative act whose consequences they believe will cause them to suffer prejudice. This act may be a prefectoral decree issuing an authorization to operate an ICPE in which the petitioner contests :

• the conditions under which the public inquiry was held prior to the signing of the order (duration, period, advertising, posting, consultation of the file, presence of the investigating commissioner, reception of the public, services and authorities consulted, etc.);

• the information and data provided by the petitioner (or lack thereof) in his authorization application (products used, manufacturing processes, technical and financial capacities of the operator, impact study, hazard study, estimated expenditure, etc.);

• maximum sound level limits (daytime, nighttime) or discharge...