CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2017
| Author | Merabishvili, Marekh |
|---|---|
| Title | Georgia's New Environmental Impact Assessment Legislation: Costs and Benefits for the Business Environment |
| Summary | Georgia undertakes the legal approximation obligation under the Association Agreement with the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States signed in June 2014. The Georgian Draft Law - Code of Environmental Assessment has been drafted to fulfill this obligation in relation to the Environmental Impact Assessment and the Strategic Environmental Assessment regulations. This thesis analyzes the costs and benefits of the draft law regarding its impact on the business environment in Georgia. The thesis finds that as compared to current Georgian regulation, the regulatory scope is enhanced under the new law through an increased list of activities subject to the Environmental Impacts Assessment and it affects more spheres of business activities. It also finds that the draft law places additional burdens on business in terms of increased timeframe of the environmental assessment procedures and raised expenses. Additional regulation is imposed on business through the increased scope of public participation and post-project analysis. The thesis also considers the nature of the unprepared local market and the business sector to highlight an existing gap between the draft law and practice. Finally, the thesis briefly analyzes the Strategic Environmental Assessment and Transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment Procedures included in the draft law and finds they also place an increased burden on business. Despite these additional burdens, the draft law establishes increased legal certainty and clear procedures for business, which contributes to efficient planning of activities and improves the quality of environmental assessment. The draft law adopts the best international and European practice in environmental assessment, prepares Georgia for future development of this sphere, and plays an important role in environmental protection. |
| Supervisor | Lawrence, Jessica Charles |
| Department | Legal Studies LLM |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2017/merabishvili_marekh.pdf |
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