law4all

Civil law involves disputes between two or more parties. Individual persons, corporations or governments may be parties to a civil dispute. The successful party may obtain an award of money (damages) or some other type of court order (injunction) or declaration. An injunction can be a useful remedy in environmental cases because it can prevent environmental damage being done, or ensure that action is taken to remedy a problem. A lower standard of proof, “on the balance of probabilities” applies in civil cases.

Two areas of civil law that may be relevant to environmental protection are nuisance and negligence. Both these areas of the law are known as ‘torts’ (civil wrongs) and are mainly governed by the common law rather than by legislation.

The law of nuisance broadly concerns the protection of a person’s land from damage or from activities that interfere with the enjoyment of that land. Nuisance can involve, for example, water escaping from a dam, pollutants escaping from a mining operation, fumes escaping from an industrial process, or noxious weeds spreading from one property to another. However, nuisance is of limited use in protecting the environment because it only protects an individual’s interest in land and many of these situations are now dealt with more comprehensively by legislation dealing with pollution and other environmental harms.
In an action for negligence, it is necessary to show that the defendant owed you a duty of care, that he or she breached that duty, and that you suffered damage as a result. It is possible that the law of negligence could apply in some situations where there has been environmental damage. In some circumstances, governments can also be sued for breach of statutory duties. A disadvantage of bringing a legal action for negligence or nuisance is that, as with most court action, it will often be complex, expensive and financially risky. That said, it is possible to bring minor matters before the Small Claims Court at relatively low risk.