<\/p>\r\n

Por otra parte, la Corte se\u00f1ala que el Estado goza en estos casos de un amplio margen de apreciaci\u00f3n, por lo que debe dejarse a su elecci\u00f3n los medios para cumplir con sus obligaciones. En consecuencia, ser\u00eda ir demasiado lejos establecer un derecho a la libre elecci\u00f3n de la vivienda a costa del Estado; las demandas de las familias perjudicadas podr\u00edan igualmente ser atendidas mediante medidas que redujesen los riesgos ambientales a niveles que no fuesen peligrosos para los individuos que viviesen en la cercan\u00eda de las instalaciones. Pero no fue as\u00ed, porque la actuaci\u00f3n estatal se hab\u00eda caracterizado por numerosos retrasos y una aplicaci\u00f3n incoherente.<\/p>\r\n

Destacamos los siguientes extractos:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

115.\u00a0 While agreeing with the Government that the statutory definitions do not necessarily reflect the actual levels of pollution to which the applicants were exposed, the Court notes that the applicants in the present case have presented a substantial amount of data in evidence that the actual excess of polluting substances within these distances from the facilities at issue has been recorded on a number of occasions (see paragraphs 17-18 and 22-23 above).<\/p>\r\n

116.\u00a0 In deciding on whether the damage (or risk of damage) suffered by the applicants in the present case was such as to attract guarantees of Article 8, the Court also has regard to the fact that at various times the authorities considered resettling the applicants. The need to resettle the Dubetska-Nayda family was ultimately confirmed in a final judgment given by the Chervonograd Court on 26 December 2005.<\/p>\r\n

117.\u00a0 As regards the Gavrylyuk-Vakiv family, on 21 June 2004 the same court found their resettlement unnecessary. However, in its findings the judicial authorities relied on anticipation that the factory would promptly enforce the measures envisioned in its prospective buffer zone management plan. These measures included hydro-insulation of the spoil heap and decreasing its height to 50 metres (in which case, as noted by the applicants, a 300-metre buffer zone around the spoil heap would become permissible under domestic law). According to the case file materials, these measures have not yet been carried out.<\/p>\r\n

118.\u00a0 Consequently, it appears that for a period exceeding twelve years since the entry of the Convention into force in respect of Ukraine, the applicants were living permanently in an area which, according to both the legislative framework and empirical studies, was unsafe for residential use on account of air and water pollution and soil subsidence resulting from the operation of two State-owned industrial facilities.<\/p>\r\n

119.\u00a0 In these circumstances the Court considers that the environmental nuisance complained about attained the level of severity necessary to bring the complaint within the ambit of Article 8 of the Convention.<\/p>\r\n

120.\u00a0 In examining to what extent the State owed a duty to the applicants under this provision, the Court reiterates that the present case concerns pollution emanating from the daily operation of the State-owned Vizeyska coal mine and the Chervonogradska coal-processing factory, which was State-owned at least until 2007; its spoil heap has remained in State ownership to the present day. The State should have been, and in fact was, well aware of the environmental effects of the operation of these facilities, as these were the only large industries in the vicinity of the applicant families' households.<\/p>\r\n

121.\u00a0 The Court further notes that the applicants set up their present homes before the facilities were in operation and long before the actual effect of their operation on the environment could be determined.<\/p>\r\n

122.\u00a0 The Court also observes that, as the Government suggests, in principle the applicants remain free to move elsewhere. However, regard being had to the applicants' substantiated arguments concerning lack of demand for their houses located in the close proximity to major industrial pollutants, the Court is prepared to conclude that remedying their situation without State support may be a difficult task. Moreover, the Court considers that the applicants were not unreasonable in relying on the State, which owned both the polluters, to support their resettlement, especially since a promise to that effect was given to them as early as in 1994. As regards the Government's argument that the applicants could have applied for social housing, in the Court's view they presented no valid evidence that a general request of this sort would have been more effective than other efforts made by the applicants to obtain State housing, especially in view of the fact that the only formal reason for them to seek relocation was environmental pollution.<\/p>\r\n

123.\u00a0 In the Court's opinion the combination of all these factors shows a strong enough link between the pollutant emissions and the State to raise an issue of the State's responsibility under Article 8 of the Convention.<\/p>\r\n

124.\u00a0 It remains to be determined whether the State, in securing the applicants' rights, has struck a fair balance between the competing interests of the applicants and the community as a whole, as required by paragraph 2 of Article 8.<\/p>\r\n

[\u2026]<\/p>\r\n

150.\u00a0 The Court considers that when it comes to the wide margin of appreciation available to the States in context of their environmental obligations under Article 8 of the Convention, it would be going too far to establish an applicant's general right to free new housing at the State's expense (see Fadeyeva, cited above, \u00a7 133). The applicants' Article 8 complaints could also be remedied by duly addressing the environmental hazards.<\/p>\r\n

151.\u00a0 In the meantime, the Government's approach to tackling pollution in the present case has also been marked by numerous delays and inconsistent enforcement. A major measure contemplated by the Government in this regard during the period in question concerned the development of scientifically justified buffer zone management plans for the mine and the factory. This measure appears to have been mandatory under the applicable law, as at various times the public health authorities imposed sanctions on the facilities' management for failures to implement it, going as far as the suspension of their operating licences (see paragraphs 32 and 35 above). However, these suspensions apparently remained unenforced and neither the mine nor the factory has put in place a valid functioning buffer zone management plan as yet.<\/p>\r\n

152.\u00a0 Eight years since the entry of the Convention into force, in 2005, the factory had such plan developed. When dismissing the applicants' claims against the factory for resettlement, the judicial authorities pointed out that the applicants' rights should be duly protected by this plan, in particular, in view of the anticipated downsizing of the spoil heap and its hydro-insulation. However, these measures, envisioned by the plan as necessary in order to render the factory's operation harmless to the area outside the buffer zone, have still not been enforced more than five years later (see paragraph 38 above). There also appear to have been, at least until the launch of the aqueduct no later than in 2009, delays in supplying potable water to the hamlet, which resulted in considerable difficulties for the applicants. The applicants cannot therefore be said to have been duly protected from the environmental risks emanating from the factory operation.<\/p>\r\n

153.\u00a0 As regards the mine, in 2005 it went into liquidation without the zone management plan ever being finalised. It is unclear whether the mine has in fact ceased to operate at the present time. It appears, however, that the applicants in any event continue to be affected by its presence, in particular as they have not been compensated for damage caused by soil subsidence. In addition, the Dubetska-Nayda family lives within 100 metres of the mine's spoil heap, which needs environmental management regardless of whether it is still in use.<\/p>\r\n

154.\u00a0 In sum, it appears that during the entire period taken into consideration both the mine and the factory have functioned not in compliance with the applicable domestic environmental regulations and the Government have failed either to facilitate the applicants' relocation or to put in place a functioning policy to protect them from environmental risks associated with continuing to live within their immediate proximity.<\/p>\r\n

155.\u00a0 The Court appreciates that tackling environmental concerns associated with the operation of two major industrial polluters, which had apparently been malfunctioning from the start and piling up waste for over fifty years, was a complex task which required time and considerable resources, the more so in the context of these facilities' low profitability and nationwide economic difficulties, to which the Government have referred. At the same time, the Court notes that these industrial facilities were located in a rural area and the applicants belonged to a very small group of people (apparently not more than two dozen families) who lived nearby and were most seriously affected by pollution. In these circumstances the Government has failed to adduce sufficient explanation for their failure to either resettle the applicants or find some other kind of effective solution for their individual burden for more than twelve years.<\/p>\r\n

Comentario del autor:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

El presente asunto confirma la l\u00ednea jurisprudencial mantenida hasta la fecha con relaci\u00f3n a la contaminaci\u00f3n derivada de actividades industriales. Al igual que en el asunto Fadeyeva v. Russia<\/em>, de 9 de junio de 2005, la Corte advierte que no es su cometido imponer obligaciones precisas a las autoridades nacionales para remediar los peligros ambientales derivados de las actividades industriales, sino que deja en manos de \u00e9stas la decisi\u00f3n de tomar las medidas m\u00e1s adecuadas en funci\u00f3n de cada situaci\u00f3n. De este modo, un Estado puede plantearse otras opciones que no pasan necesariamente por la reducci\u00f3n de los niveles de contaminaci\u00f3n, como, por ejemplo, la reubicaci\u00f3n de la poblaci\u00f3n en zonas m\u00e1s seguras. Claro est\u00e1 que esa posibilidad lleva aparejado siempre un coste econ\u00f3mico, que debe ser necesariamente asumido, al menos parcialmente, por el responsable de la instalaci\u00f3n, sea p\u00fablica o privada.<\/p>\r\n

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17 November 2011

Current Case Law European Court of Human Rights ( ECHR )

Jurisprudencia al día. Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos. Contaminación industrial

Sentencia del TEDH de 10 de febrero de 2011, demanda núm. 30499/03, Dubetska y otros c. Ucrania

Autor: Enrique J. Martínez Pérez, profesor contratado doctor de la Universidad de Valladolid

Palabras clave: contaminación industrial, derecho al respeto a la vida privada y familiar, reasentamiento de la población.

Resumen:

El asunto que nos ocupa versa sobre la contaminación industrial procedente de una mina y una planta de procesamiento de carbón propiedad del Estado. Los demandantes, residentes en una zona rural muy cercana a dichas instalaciones, habían estado expuestos durante muchos años, según los estudios de las autoridades nacionales y de diversas entidades privadas, a un alto riesgo de padecer cáncer y otras enfermedades renales y respiratorias, debido no sólo a la presencia de elevados niveles de concentración de sustancias peligrosas en el aire, sino también a la contaminación de las aguas subterráneas, proveniente de las infiltraciones en las escombreras. Al mismo tiempo, habían sufrido también inundaciones y hundimientos del suelo. Ante esta situación, las autoridades ucranianas decidieron facilitar una nueva vivienda a los afectados en una zona más segura. Pero debido a la demora de sus promesas, cada familia presentó un

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16 November 2011

Spain Current Legislation

Legislación al día. Estado. Agricultura

Real Decreto 1336/2011, de 3 de octubre, por el que se regula el contrato territorial como instrumento para promover el desarrollo sostenible del medio rural. (BOE núm. 239, de 4 de octubre de 2011)

Autora: Eva Blasco Hedo. Responsable de la Unidad de Investigación y Formación del CIEDA- CIEMAT

Temas Clave: Agricultura; Ayudas, Contratos; Explotaciones agrarias; Desarrollo sostenible; Principio de multifuncionalidad

Resumen:

Esta modalidad de contrato se encuadra dentro de las políticas de desarrollo rural sostenible con la finalidad de orientar e incentivar las actividades agrarias hacia la multifuncionalidad, de tal manera que su explotación no quede relegada al beneficio obtenido en el mercado por la venta de sus productos, sino que tiendan hacia la multifuncionalidad y la generación de externalidades positivas que contribuyan a mejorar los aspectos económicos, sociales y ambientales y todo ello, bajo la aplicación de un enfoque territorial. Y es precisamente el interés público de dichas externalidades, lo que va a motivar a las Administraciones Públicas a compensar, retribuir e incentivar este tipo de actividades.

La aprobación de esta norma de carácter básico responde a la exigencia establecida en el art. 16 de

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16 November 2011

Spain Current Legislation

Legislación al día. Estado. Energía eléctrica

Real Decreto 1390/2011, de 14 de octubre, por el que se regula la indicación del consumo de energía y otros recursos por parte de los productos relacionados con la energía, mediante el etiquetado y una información normalizada. (BOE núm. 249, de 15 de octubre de 2011)

Autora: Eva Blasco Hedo. Responsable de la Unidad de Investigación y Formación del CIEDA- CIEMAT

Temas Clave: Energía eléctrica; Etiquetas; Contratación Administrativa; Consumidores y usuarios

Resumen:

A través de este real decreto se incorpora a nuestro ordenamiento jurídico la Directiva 2010/30/UE, ofreciendo un marco sobre etiquetado más coherente y simplificado, destinado a mejorar las características energéticas y medioambientales de los productos y potenciar su utilización por parte de los consumidores. Se articula, además, como norma marco de los Reglamentos delegados que en un futuro se desarrollen para darle efectividad concreta y a través de los cuales se deberá poner en conocimiento del usuario final la información referente al consumo de energía eléctrica, de otras formas de energía, así como otros datos complementarios.

De conformidad con su art. 1, tiene como objeto regular la información dirigida al usuario final, particularmente por medio del

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15 November 2011

Current Case Law Constitutional Court

Jurisprudencia al día. Tribunal Constitucional. Aguas

Sentencia del Tribunal Constitucional de 19 de mayo de 2011 (El Pleno del Tribunal Constitucional, Ponente: Elisa Pérez Vera)

Autor: David Arribas Gómez, Licenciado en Derecho

Fuente: BOE núm. 172, de 19 de mayo de 2011

Temas Clave: Aguas; Planificación Hidrológica; Estatutos de Autonomía; Competencias; Cuencas hidrográficas; La Rioja; Aragón

Resumen:

El Pleno del Tribunal Constitucional resuelve en esta sentencia el recurso de inconstitucionalidad interpuesto por el Consejo de Gobierno de la Comunidad Autónoma de La Rioja, a través del cual se impugnan los artículos 19 (derechos en relación con el agua), 72 (aguas) y Disposición Adicional Quinta de la Ley Orgánica 5/2007, de 20 de abril, de reforma del Estatuto de Autonomía de Aragón (EAAr). El objeto del recurso se ciñe a las posibles extralimitaciones competenciales o infracciones del bloque de la constitucionalidad del EAAr relacionadas con las aguas superficiales o subterráneas que discurren o están ubicadas en Aragón, en especial la cuenca hidrográfica del Ebro, cuya demarcación integra a la Comunidad Autónoma de La Rioja.

El Tribunal llega a la conclusión final de que los artículos 19 y 72 del EAAr no son inconstitucionales.

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14 November 2011

Current Issues Diary

Actualidad al día. CIEDA-CIEMAT. Formación. Residuos

El CENTRO INTERNACIONAL DE ESTUDIOS DE DERECHO AMBIENTAL (CIEDA-CIEMAT), ha organizado con la colaboración de la Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), a través de su Centro Asociado en Soria, un Foro de debate a través de tres mesas redondas sobre “La Nueva Ley 22/2011, de 28 de julio, de Residuos y Suelos Contaminados”.

Para el análisis de los temas objeto de debate, que versarán principalmente sobre El Marco general de la nueva Ley de residuos y sus innovaciones; Instrumentos de política de residuos en Castilla y León; Responsabilidad del productor del producto y el futuro de los sistemas de gestión; Situación de los residuos urbanos en España; Suelos contaminados y Evolución Jurisprudencial en materia de residuos; contamos con la colaboración de expertos en la materia procedentes del Ámbito Universitario, de la Judicatura, de las Administraciones Públicas, del mundo empresarial y de los Organismos Públicos de Investigación, que sin duda nos ofrecerán una visión de conjunto sobre esta materia.

El motivo de la presente es hacerles llegar esta iniciativa que creemos de sumo interés e invitarles a asistir a este Foro de debate que tendrá lugar los próximos martes 29 y

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