UK Environmental Legislation and Its Administration in 2013-Achievements, Challenges and Prospects

This article considers the unwieldy state of UK environmental legislation in 2013, after 25 years of innovation, ad hoc reform and political change. It shows that an appraisal of UK environmental legislation involves considering much more than primary legislation emanating from Westminster-secondary legislation, devolved legislative instruments, policy documents and administrative norms all serve to constitute and inform the legislative picture. Through this wide analytical lens, the article considers legal problems that characterise UK environmental legislation today, from undermining of the rule of law due to its inaccessible complexity, to occupying an awkward place in public law terms. A particular problem is the fragmentation of legislation, and the article examines the case for integrating environmental legislation in a way that does not undermine the flexibility and institutional expertise that more focused legislation allows. The article offers not only a method for analysing the current UK environmental legislative landscape, but suggests routes for reform that might now be considered.