The environmental regulatory act: A heterogeneous honcept within the sphere of administrative manifestations of will

Abstract

Currently, interactions between human beings and the natural environment possess a bivalent character. On one hand, humanity strives to achieve harmony with nature; on the other, the same human beings pursue the unlimited expansion of the built environment. In a context where the development of the built environment tends to acquire an uncontrolled character, the administration— the declared guardian of the public interest—has been compelled to adapt its conduct by establishing new forms of administrative expression of will oriented toward the protection and conservation of the natural environment. The present study aims to explore how these forms of administrative expression of will, generically referred to as environmental regulatory acts, are regulated at the national level. Starting from the general and special provisions governing environmental protection, the article seeks to highlight the disconnect between the intent of the legislator—which views the environmental regulatory act as a homogeneous concept—and the fundamental principles of administrative law. An analysis of various environmental opinions, agreements and permits through the application of these principles leads to a conclusion contrary to the legislator’s intent: the notion of an „environmental regulatory act” brings together administrative expressions of will that possess a distinct juridical nature, representing an inherently heterogeneous concept. The legislator’s intent to classify all types of environmental regulatory acts as administrative acts may be justifiably questioned. Similarly, qualifying all such approvals, agreements and permits as “regulatory” acts is problematic. As we shall demonstrate, a significant portion of environmental regulatory acts are, by their very nature, individual in character—a feature that influences, among other things, the acquisition of irrevocability through their entry into civil circulation.