Environment in Luxembourg: The nature law deemed too restrictive
The law on the protection of nature is not in conformity with the Constitution, has effect the Administrative Court. The text which obliges owners of houses located in green areas to request authorization from the Ministry of the Environment to carry out work would be too restrictive. The judgment was rendered in the context of a dispute between a resident and the ministry, which could set a precedent.
Justice advocates the consideration of other criteria. The law amended in 2018 would be disproportionate, “against the backdrop of the protection of the right to property”, notes the judicial body. It also notes an “incompatibility with the very idea of sustainability”, since the buildings on which work has been refused “have demonstrated their durability for more than half a century”. She adds that they were built with “essentially still local” materials, thus respecting the principle of the “circular economy”.
Martine Hansen, co-president of the CSV fraction in the Chamber of Deputies, immediately requested a meeting of the Environment Committee to discuss the subject. “The current law is unfair and illogical. It caused too much legal uncertainty and left too much room for arbitrariness,” she said. The elected official believes that “some works are sometimes refused when they do not harm nature”. The law in question is to be amended soon.