The grant or refusal, renewal or revocation of a licence to discharge, or works approval may be vital to the continuance of a business or industry. Those who administer environmental protection legislation must do so according to principles of law which are designed to ensure arbitrary, unreasonable or unfair decisions are not made. Appeals against many of the administrative regulatory measures available to Victorian Environment Protection Authority are available to the Victorian Administrative Appeal Tribunal. An understanding of the nature and role of the tribunal is therefore also essential. In addition to administrative regulatory measures, modern environmental legislation commonly contains numerous provisions making certain behaviour criminal and punishable by various means, including fines and, in worst cases, imprisonment.
Many environmental offences are of strict or absolute liability.
A knowledge of the criminal law is therefore of importance to the environmental lawyer. Although, as we shall see prosecutions are rare, the availability of criminal sanctions and the increasing penalties for breaches of them reflect the growing seriousness with which environmental damage is viewed. Torts Common law actions for nuisance and trespass and negligence can prove an indirect means of protecting the environment. Whilst the common law has traditionally been concerned with the protection of private property, civil actions to protect private rights may stop environmental damage occuring or continuing and result in compensation for individuals affected by the actions which constitute an interference with such rights. Civil as well as criminal actions may be brought by environmental protection agencies and in some situations by citizens.