The polluter pays principle : the legal aspects and implications

Abstract

Environmental law is a relatively new field, and, consequent to the lack of it, or to the sporadic legislation dealing with the environment as its main concern, other branches of law such as tort, have been used to remedy environmental issues. Their inadequacy induced the adoption of measures to tackle environmental problems. Developments in the field of environmental law have taken a very gradual process, with the first moves towards their evolution being first made at the international level. The turning point was the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, which focused the world's attention towards conservation and preservation of the human environment, and is nowadays still considered as a landmark in the development of environmental law.