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PARALLEL TEXTS
L’omessa valutazione dell’impatto ambientale di un progetto, in violazione del diritto dell’Unione, in linea di principio non comporta, di per sé, la responsabilità dello Stato per un danno puramente patrimoniale
Inglese tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-28_en.htm
Italiano tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-28_it.htm
Data documento: 14-03-2013
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The fact that an assessment of the environmental impact of a project has not been carried out, in breach of EU law, does not in principle, by itself, render the State liable for purely pecuniary damage
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L’omessa valutazione dell’impatto ambientale di un progetto, in violazione del diritto dell’Unione, in linea di principio non comporta, di per sé, la responsabilità dello Stato per un danno puramente patrimoniale
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However, the State may be so liable if the national court finds, in particular, that there is a direct causal link between the fact that no assessment was carried out and the damage sustained, such as the decrease in the value of a property as a result of the extension of an airport
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Tuttavia, tale responsabilità può sussistere nel caso in cui il giudice nazionale accerti l’esistenza di un nesso causale diretto tra l’omissione e il danno subito, quale la diminuzione del valore di un bene immobile conseguente all’ampliamento di un aeroporto
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Since the accession of Austria to the EU in 1995, Vienna airport has been developed and enlarged several times, without any prior assessment of the environmental effects of those projects.
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Successivamente all'adesione dell'Austria all'Unione europea (1995) l'aeroporto di Vienna è stato più volte ristrutturato e ampliato, senza che i progetti siano stati preventivamente sottoposti ad una valutazione del loro impatto ambientale.
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At the time when those projects were carried out, Ms Leth was already living in a house, which she owns, situated within the security zone of that airport.
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Al momento dei lavori, la sig.ra Leth abitava già in una casa, di sua proprietà, situata nella zona di sicurezza dell’aeroporto.
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She brought an action against the Austrian State and Land Niederösterreich (the State of Lower Austria) before the Austrian courts, in which she sought payment of €120,000 as compensation for the decrease in the value of her house, resulting from, in particular, aircraft noise.
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La signora ha citato lo Stato austriaco e il Land Niederösterreich (Bassa-Austria) dinanzi ai giudici austriaci, chiedendo, a titolo di risarcimento del danno, EUR 120 000 a causa della diminuzione del valore della sua casa, cagionata segnatamente dal rumore degli aeromobili.
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She also seeks a declaration that the Austrian State and Land Niederösterreich will be liable for any future damage.
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Inoltre, ha chiesto che sia constatata la responsabilità dello Stato e del Land per i danni futuri.
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She bases those claims on, inter alia, a breach of Directive 85/337, which requires that an assessment be carried out as to the environmental impact of public or private projects that are liable to have a major effect in that regard.
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Fonda tali domande sulla violazione della direttiva 85/337, la quale impone una valutazione dell'impatto ambientale per i progetti pubblici o privati che possono incidere in modo rilevante in materia.
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The Oberster Gerichtshof (Austrian Supreme Court), which has been called upon to resolve this dispute at final instance, seeks to establish whether the duty of the competent national authorities to carry out an environmental impact assessment is intended to protect the individuals concerned against purely pecuniary damage caused by a project in respect of which such an assessment has not been carried out.
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L’Oberster Gerichtshof (Corte di cassazione, Austria), chiamato a dirimere la controversia in ultima istanza, chiede se l'obbligo a carico delle autorità nazionali competenti di procedere alla valutazione dell'impatto ambientale sia atto a tutelare i singoli interessati contro i danni puramente patrimoniali causati da un progetto che non sia stato sottoposto ad una simile valutazione.
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According to the judgment delivered by the Court of Justice today, in so far as the Directive requires an environmental impact assessment of a project, such as the development or extension of an airport, that assessment must – if the project affects the use of a property – identify, describe and assess the direct and indirect effects of noise on human beings.
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Secondo l’odierna sentenza della Corte di giustizia, allorché la direttiva richiede una valutazione dell'impatto ambientale di un progetto, quale la ristrutturazione o l’ampliamento di un aeroporto, laddove detto progetto incida sull'utilizzazione di un bene immobile tale valutazione deve identificare, descrivere e valutare gli effetti diretti ed indiretti del rumore sull'uomo.
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Nonetheless, as the assessment does not include the effects which the project has on the value of material assets, it does not extend to the value of the property concerned.
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Nondimeno, dal momento che la valutazione non include le ripercussioni del progetto sul valore dei beni materiali, essa non si estende al valore del bene immobile.
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However, pecuniary damage, in so far as it is the direct economic consequence of the environmental impact of the project in question, is covered by the objective of protection pursued by the Directive.
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Ciò posto, i danni patrimoniali, qualora siano conseguenze economiche dirette dell'impatto ambientale del progetto, rientrano nell'obiettivo di protezione perseguito dalla direttiva.
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Accordingly, in circumstances where exposure to the noise resulting from a project has significant effects on an individual – in that a house affected by that noise is rendered less capable of fulfilling its function and the individual’s environment, quality of life and, potentially, health are affected – a decrease in the pecuniary value of that house may be a direct economic consequence of such effects on the environment, this being a matter to be examined on a case-by-case basis.
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Pertanto, in circostanze in cui l'esposizione al rumore risultante da un progetto abbia effetti rilevanti sull'uomo – una casa ad uso abitativo, interessata da tale rumore, sia resa meno atta ad assolvere la sua funzione e il contesto ambientale dell'uomo, la sua qualità di vita e, eventualmente, la sua salute siano pregiudicati – una diminuzione del valore patrimoniale di tale casa può essere una conseguenza economica diretta di simili effetti sull'ambiente, circostanza che va esaminata caso per caso.
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However, in addition to the conditions that the rule of EU law infringed must be intended to confer rights on the individuals adversely affected, as established in the present case, and that the breach of that rule must be sufficiently serious, the existence of a direct causal link between that breach and the loss or damage sustained is an indispensable condition of the right to compensation, the existence of that link being a matter for the national courts to ascertain, in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Court.
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Tuttavia, oltre alla verifica che la norma di diritto dell'Unione violata sia preordinata a conferire diritti ai singoli lesi, come accertato nel caso di specie, e che la violazione di tale norma sia sufficientemente qualificata, condizione indispensabile del diritto al risarcimento è la sussistenza di un nesso di causalità diretto tra la violazione e i danni subiti, sussistenza che spetta ai giudici nazionali verificare, conformemente alle indicazioni fornite dalla Corte.
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The Court notes in that respect that, although the Directive prescribes an environmental impact assessment of public or private projects, it does not, however, lay down the substantive rules concerning the balancing of the environmental effects with other factors.
Likewise, it does not prohibit the carrying-out of projects which
are liable to have negative effects on the environment.
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La Corte ricorda in proposito che, sebbene la direttiva prescriva una valutazione dell'impatto ambientale di un progetto pubblico o privato, essa tuttavia né enuncia le regole sostanziali relative ad una ponderazione dell'impatto ambientale con altri fattori, né vieta la realizzazione dei progetti atti ad avere un impatto negativo sull'ambiente.
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Consequently, the fact that an assessment of the environmental impact of a project was not carried out, in breach of the Directive, does not in principle, by itself, confer on an individual a right to compensation for purely pecuniary damage caused by the decrease in the value of his property as a result of the environmental effects of that project.
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Conseguentemente, l'omessa valutazione dell'impatto ambientale di un progetto, in violazione della direttiva, non per questo conferisce al singolo, di per sé, un diritto al risarcimento del danno puramente patrimoniale causato dalla diminuzione del valore del suo bene immobile conseguente all’impatto ambientale di detto progetto.
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That finding follows from EU law and is without prejudice to rules of national law which are less restrictive as regards State liability.
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Tale constatazione si fonda sul diritto dell’Unione e lascia impregiudicate le eventuali norme del diritto nazionale meno restrittive in materia di responsabilità dello Stato.
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It is, however, for the national court to determine whether the requirements of EU law applicable to the right to compensation, including the existence of a direct causal link between the breach alleged and the damage sustained, have been satisfied.
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Spetta tuttavia al giudice nazionale verificare se siano soddisfatte le prescrizioni poste dal diritto dell'Unione, applicabili al diritto al risarcimento, in particolare l’esistenza di un nesso causale diretto tra la violazione lamentata e i danni subiti.
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NOTE:
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IMPORTANTE:
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A reference for a preliminary ruling allows the courts and tribunals of the Member States, in disputes which have been brought before them, to refer questions to the Court of Justice about the interpretation of European Union law or the validity of a European Union act.
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Il rinvio pregiudiziale consente ai giudici degli Stati membri, nell'ambito di una controversia della quale sono investiti, di interpellare la Corte in merito all’interpretazione del diritto dell’Unione o alla validità di un atto dell’Unione.
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The Court of Justice does not decide the dispute itself.
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La Corte non risolve la controversia nazionale.
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It is for the national court or tribunal to dispose of the case in accordance with the Court’s decision, which is similarly binding on other national courts or tribunals before which a similar issue is raised.
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Spetta al giudice nazionale risolvere la causa conformemente alla decisione della Corte. Tale decisione vincola egualmente gli altri giudici nazionali ai quali venga sottoposto un problema simile.
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LISTEN WITH READSPEAKER
The fact that an assessment of the environmental impact of a project has
not been carried out, in breach of EU law, does not in principle, by itself,
render the State liable for purely pecuniary damage
However, the State may be so liable if the national court finds,
in particular, that there is a direct causal link between the fact that no
assessment was carried out and the damage sustained, such as the decrease in the
value of a property as a result of the extension of an airport
Since the accession of Austria to the EU in 1995, Vienna airport has
been developed and enlarged several times, without any prior assessment of the
environmental effects of those projects.
At the time when those projects were carried out, Ms Leth was already
living in a house, which she owns, situated within the security zone of that
airport.
She brought an action against the Austrian State and Land
Niederösterreich (the State of Lower Austria) before the Austrian courts, in
which she sought payment of €120,000 as compensation for the decrease in the
value of her house, resulting from, in particular, aircraft noise.
She also seeks a declaration that the Austrian State and Land
Niederösterreich will be liable for any future damage.
She bases those claims on, inter alia, a breach of Directive 85/337,
which requires that an assessment be carried out as to the environmental impact
of public or private projects that are liable to have a major effect in that
regard.
The Oberster Gerichtshof (Austrian Supreme Court), which has been
called upon to resolve this dispute at final instance, seeks to establish
whether the duty of the competent national authorities to carry out an
environmental impact assessment is intended to protect the individuals concerned
against purely pecuniary damage caused by a project in respect of which such an
assessment has not been carried out.
According to the judgment delivered by the Court of Justice today, in
so far as the Directive requires an environmental impact assessment of a
project, such as the development or extension of an airport, that assessment
must – if the project affects the use of a property – identify, describe and
assess the direct and indirect effects of noise on human beings.
Nonetheless, as the assessment does not include the effects which the
project has on the value of material assets, it does not extend to the value of
the property concerned.
However, pecuniary damage, in so far as it is the direct economic
consequence of the environmental impact of the project in question, is covered
by the objective of protection pursued by the Directive.
Accordingly, in circumstances where exposure to the noise resulting
from a project has significant effects on an individual – in that a house
affected by that noise is rendered less capable of fulfilling its function and
the individual’s environment, quality of life and, potentially, health are
affected – a decrease in the pecuniary value of that house may be a direct
economic consequence of such effects on the environment, this being a matter to
be examined on a case-by-case basis.
However, in addition to the conditions that the rule of EU law
infringed must be intended to confer rights on the individuals adversely
affected, as established in the present case, and that the breach of that rule
must be sufficiently serious, the existence of a direct causal link between that
breach and the loss or damage sustained is an indispensable condition of the
right to compensation, the existence of that link being a matter for the
national courts to ascertain, in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the
Court.
The Court notes in that respect that, although the Directive prescribes
an environmental impact assessment of public or private projects, it does not,
however, lay down the substantive rules concerning the balancing of the
environmental effects with other factors.
Likewise, it does not prohibit the carrying-out of projects which are liable to
have negative effects on the environment.
Consequently, the fact that an assessment of the environmental impact of a
project was not carried out, in breach of the Directive, does not in principle,
by itself, confer on an individual a right to compensation for purely pecuniary
damage caused by the decrease in the value of his property as a result of the
environmental effects of that project.
That finding follows from EU law and is without prejudice to rules of
national law which are less restrictive as regards State liability.
It is, however, for the national court to determine whether the
requirements of EU law applicable to the right to compensation, including the
existence of a direct causal link between the breach alleged and the damage
sustained, have been satisfied.
NOTE:
A reference for a preliminary ruling allows the courts and tribunals of
the Member States, in disputes which have been brought before them, to refer
questions to the Court of Justice about the interpretation of European Union law
or the validity of a European Union act.
The Court of Justice does not decide the dispute itself.
It is for the national court or tribunal to dispose of the case in
accordance with the Court’s decision, which is similarly binding on other
national courts or tribunals before which a similar issue is raised.
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