EIA requirement for mines in Hatay had been lifted: Court says 'no legal interest'!
The Hatay Bar Association took the Hatay Governor's Office to court over its decision to lift the mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process for opening mines. The court rejected the lawsuit filed by the Bar Association. The Bar has appealed the decision to the Regional Administrative Court, and it was reported that another lawsuit regarding the matter will be filed.
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Following the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes, the Hatay Governor's Office issued a decision on August 3, lifting the mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process required for opening mines, including the construction of facilities that could pollute the environment in certain designated areas of the city. It was stated that this decision was taken to avoid difficulties in procuring the mining materials necessary for the reconstruction of the city after the earthquake.
According to a report by Cengiz Karagöz from Cumhuriyet, the Hatay Bar Association took this decision by the Governor's Office to court. In the lawsuit filed by the Bar, it was argued that the revocation of the decision taken by the Hatay Governor's Office Local Environment Board by the Hatay Provincial Directorate of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change was contrary to the principle of parallelism in authority and procedure. For this reason, a stay of execution was requested regarding the practice in question.
DECISION APPEALED
The Hatay 3rd Administrative Court rejected the lawsuit filed by the Hatay Bar Association. In its ruling, the court stated that the Hatay Bar Association did not have a "legal interest" in the case.
The decision included the following statements:
“In judicial decisions, the concept of 'legal interest' is defined as the link or connection between the plaintiff and the administrative act they seek to annul; it is accepted that a legal interest exists if there is a legitimate, current, and serious relationship between the administrative act and the person filing the lawsuit; beyond this, the condition of a violation of a subjective right is also sought.”
The Hatay Bar Association has appealed the decision to the Regional Administrative Court. It was also learned that another lawsuit regarding the issue will be filed together with all rights holders and environmental advocates in the region.