LA SOCIEDAD CIVIL EN LA DEFENSA JUDICIAL DEL MEDIOAMBIENTE: INSUFICIENCIAS Y OPORTUNIDADES PERDIDAS.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: LA SOCIEDAD CIVIL EN LA DEFENSA JUDICIAL DEL MEDIOAMBIENTE: INSUFICIENCIAS Y OPORTUNIDADES PERDIDAS.
Alternate Title: CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE JUDICIAL PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT: SHORTCOMINGS AND MISSED OPPORTUNITIES.
Authors: Reifarth Muñoz, Walter1
Source: Actualidad Jurídica Ambiental. may2026, Issue 167, p1-29. 29p.
Subject Terms: *Environmental law, *Liability for environmental damages, Civil procedure, Spaniards, Actions & defenses (Law), Civil society
Geographic Terms: Spain
Abstract (English): This article examines the procedural mechanisms that enable citizens to seek judicial protection of the environment in Spain and concludes that the current legal framework affords insufficient safeguards in this field. It finds that the socalled environmental actio popularis is effectively confined to non-profit organisations that must satisfy strict requirements concerning their incorporation, statutory purposes and territorial nexus. Likewise, the ‘neighbour action’, limited to matters affecting the urban environment, has proved to be only marginally effective due to its narrow subjective scope, the general lack of public awareness, and the costs associated with bringing such claims. The article identifies a significant regulatory gap in civil proceedings, which lack a specific channel for claims seeking compensation for environmental harm, unless such harm arises within a consumer relationship. It therefore suggests taking advantage of the forthcoming reform on representative actions to incorporate collective environmental standing into civil litigation and to introduce cy-près-type remedies for diffuse damage. In short, this paper advocates for greater involvement of civil society through accessible and coherent procedural mechanisms, consistent with an approach to environmental protection that is, now more than ever, both urgent and indispensable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Abstract (Spanish): Este trabajo analiza los mecanismos procesales que posibilitan la intervención de la ciudadanía en la defensa judicial del medioambiente en España y concluye que el ordenamiento jurídico vigente ofrece una tutela insuficiente en este campo. Se constata que la mal llamada acción popular ambiental queda reservada a asociaciones sin ánimo de lucro dotadas de estrictos requisitos de constitución, objeto social y vinculación territorial. Asimismo, la denominada acción vecinal, circunscrita al ámbito del medioambiente urbano, evidencia una eficacia residual debido a su limitado alcance subjetivo, al desconocimiento del instrumento por el público general y a los costes asociados a su ejercicio. Se pone de manifiesto la existencia de un vacío normativo relevante en el proceso civil, que carece de un cauce específico para las pretensiones resarcitorias del daño ambiental, salvo que se encuentre mediatizado por una relación de consumo. A tal fin, se propone aprovechar la futurible reforma sobre las acciones de representación para incorporar una legitimación colectiva ambiental en el proceso civil y la adopción de técnicas de reparación propias del cy-près. El trabajo propone, en suma, una mayor participación de la sociedad civil mediante instrumentos procesales accesibles y coherentes con una protección ambiental que, hoy más que nunca, es urgente y necesaria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Actualidad Jurídica Ambiental is the property of CIEMAT, through its Centro Internacional de Estudios de Derecho Ambiental (CIEDA) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: GreenFILE
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
Header DbId: 8gh
DbLabel: GreenFILE
An: 194146422
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: LA SOCIEDAD CIVIL EN LA DEFENSA JUDICIAL DEL MEDIOAMBIENTE: INSUFICIENCIAS Y OPORTUNIDADES PERDIDAS.
– Name: TitleAlt
  Label: Alternate Title
  Group: TiAlt
  Data: CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE JUDICIAL PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT: SHORTCOMINGS AND MISSED OPPORTUNITIES.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Reifarth+Muñoz%2C+Walter%22">Reifarth Muñoz, Walter</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Actualidad+Jurídica+Ambiental%22">Actualidad Jurídica Ambiental</searchLink>. may2026, Issue 167, p1-29. 29p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subject Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Environmental+law%22">Environmental law</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Liability+for+environmental+damages%22">Liability for environmental damages</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Civil+procedure%22">Civil procedure</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Spaniards%22">Spaniards</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Actions+%26+defenses+%28Law%29%22">Actions & defenses (Law)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Civil+society%22">Civil society</searchLink>
– Name: SubjectGeographic
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Spain%22">Spain</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract (English)
  Group: Ab
  Data: This article examines the procedural mechanisms that enable citizens to seek judicial protection of the environment in Spain and concludes that the current legal framework affords insufficient safeguards in this field. It finds that the socalled environmental actio popularis is effectively confined to non-profit organisations that must satisfy strict requirements concerning their incorporation, statutory purposes and territorial nexus. Likewise, the ‘neighbour action’, limited to matters affecting the urban environment, has proved to be only marginally effective due to its narrow subjective scope, the general lack of public awareness, and the costs associated with bringing such claims. The article identifies a significant regulatory gap in civil proceedings, which lack a specific channel for claims seeking compensation for environmental harm, unless such harm arises within a consumer relationship. It therefore suggests taking advantage of the forthcoming reform on representative actions to incorporate collective environmental standing into civil litigation and to introduce cy-près-type remedies for diffuse damage. In short, this paper advocates for greater involvement of civil society through accessible and coherent procedural mechanisms, consistent with an approach to environmental protection that is, now more than ever, both urgent and indispensable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract (Spanish)
  Group: Ab
  Data: Este trabajo analiza los mecanismos procesales que posibilitan la intervención de la ciudadanía en la defensa judicial del medioambiente en España y concluye que el ordenamiento jurídico vigente ofrece una tutela insuficiente en este campo. Se constata que la mal llamada acción popular ambiental queda reservada a asociaciones sin ánimo de lucro dotadas de estrictos requisitos de constitución, objeto social y vinculación territorial. Asimismo, la denominada acción vecinal, circunscrita al ámbito del medioambiente urbano, evidencia una eficacia residual debido a su limitado alcance subjetivo, al desconocimiento del instrumento por el público general y a los costes asociados a su ejercicio. Se pone de manifiesto la existencia de un vacío normativo relevante en el proceso civil, que carece de un cauce específico para las pretensiones resarcitorias del daño ambiental, salvo que se encuentre mediatizado por una relación de consumo. A tal fin, se propone aprovechar la futurible reforma sobre las acciones de representación para incorporar una legitimación colectiva ambiental en el proceso civil y la adopción de técnicas de reparación propias del cy-près. El trabajo propone, en suma, una mayor participación de la sociedad civil mediante instrumentos procesales accesibles y coherentes con una protección ambiental que, hoy más que nunca, es urgente y necesaria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Actualidad Jurídica Ambiental is the property of CIEMAT, through its Centro Internacional de Estudios de Derecho Ambiental (CIEDA) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=8gh&AN=194146422
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.56398/ajacieda.00485
    Languages:
      – Code: spa
        Text: Spanish
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 29
        StartPage: 1
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Environmental law
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Liability for environmental damages
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Civil procedure
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Spaniards
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Actions & defenses (Law)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Civil society
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Spain
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: LA SOCIEDAD CIVIL EN LA DEFENSA JUDICIAL DEL MEDIOAMBIENTE: INSUFICIENCIAS Y OPORTUNIDADES PERDIDAS.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Reifarth Muñoz, Walter
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 05
              Text: may2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 19895666
          Numbering:
            – Type: issue
              Value: 167
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Actualidad Jurídica Ambiental
              Type: main
ResultId 1