Legal Problems in the Implementation of the Environmental Impact Assessment in Ukraine: A Critical Review

By signing the Aarhus Convention and the Association Agreement with the EU, Ukraine has committed itself to adapting domestic legislation conforming European standards concerning environmental impact assessment. To fulfill international obligations, the Law “On Environmental Impact Assessment” was adopted by Ukraine. However, under this law of Ukraine, not all objects and activities having impact on the environment are assessed for their environmental impact, but only those having a significant impact on the environment are assessed. The aim of this article is to analyse the legislation of Ukraine on environmental impact assessment, and to compare it with the EU legislation. Special attention is paid to the judicial practice being adopted while implementing the said law. With the help of a case study, the shortcomings of the Ukrainian legislation are analysed and highlighted.