The European Court of First Instance has ruled that national law cannot deprive the German non-governmental organisation Friends of the Earth from challenging the legality of environmental decisions - Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland, Landesverband Nordrhein-Westfalen eV v. Bezirksregierung Arnsberg (Trianel Kohlekraftwerk Lünen intervening).
The case was referred to the Court of First Instance of the European Union by the Upper Administrative Court for the State of North Rhine Westphalia. This followed a challenge by the NGO after the regional local authority granted a temporary permit to the company Trianel to construct and operate a coal-fired power station within eight kilometres of a designated special area of conservation.
The case was referred because German domestic law does not authorise environmental NGOs to take such an action as the law only grants standing where "individual public law rights" are affected.
The Court of First Instance reasoned that it should be possible for environmental NGOs to challenge decisions which are "likely to have significant effects on the environment" within the meaning of EU legislation. This was because the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive grants such rights to environmental organisations.
PILA have recently updated their resources of barriers to public interest litigation to reflect the judgment. Click here to view a summary of this case on the PILA website.