Die Geburtsstunde der heimlichen Präklusion

In German administrative law the scope of administrative and judicial review of complex permits is individually limited to the concerns raised in time during the public participation process. In its judgment of 15 October 2015 the European Court of Justice decided that these preclusion clauses are not in conformity with European directives implementing article 9, paragraph 2, of the Aarhus Convention. But a closer analysis of the ruling, especially taking into account the emphasis put on the administrative procedure by the Aarhus Convention, reveals that it is not necessary to turn the back on the German preclusion model. As a reaction to the Court's decision, the German Federal Government issued a draft amendment to the Environmental Appeals Act (Umwelt-Rechtsbehelfsgesetz). Does the amendment suffice tomeet both the requirements of European and international law?

Autor*in Philipp I. Lee