Sustainability, the principle of environmental integration in EU law, and the legal form of planning acts

Abstract

This chapter argues that the integrated approach, as an inherent aspect of sustainable transformation of socio-economic life, raises vital theoretical challenges for the contemporary legal system. These can be examined with help of the responsive law paradigm. Presently, public planning at EU level, motivated by environmental goals, is an area that may be used for the purpose of illustrating the trials of ‘greening’ the theory of sources of law. The search of cohesion between policy and law is reflected in the planning act, which is a formal result of law-making activities integrating human development and environmental protection. The chapter attempts to identify and comment on the two key models of planning acts functioning in EU law. Simultaneously, it endeavours to critically assess the state of affairs in that regard after the enactment of the European Green Deal in 2019.