Finch (Weald Action Group), R. (on the application of) v Surrey County Council & Ors [2024] UKSC 20 (20 June 2024)
Citation:Finch (Weald Action Group), R. (on the application of) v Surrey County Council & Ors [2024] UKSC 20 (20 June 2024)
Rule of thumb 1: Do in-point foreign Judgments apply in the UK? They are not binding on UK Courts but they are persuasive authorities, so if the foreign Judgment is explained & it is well-reasoned then there is a presumption it applies.
Rule of thumb 2: What environmental impact assessments (EIA) do you need to dig up oil? One Report to actually explore the area & ascertain the amount and location of the oil, then a second report to confirm whether the go-ahead to dig it up & sell it is given.
Background facts: This case invoked the subjects of planning (major private developments) and movable/heritable property.
The basic facts of this case were that a company was granted the rights to explore an area for oil & have property rights over it if they indeed discovered this - an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report was done & the exploration was allowed by the Council based upon this. Oil was indeed discovered so the company sought to dig this up & sell this, and then was granted permission to do so. The permission was challenged as not having taken into account the emissions caused by the fuel being burned, in a new EIA Report once actual levels of the discovery were known (it was only the emissions relative to the discovery in the original EIA Report).
Court held: The UKSC deemed that the original EIA Report was not sufficient to allow the oil to be dug up & sold on as it did not calculate emissions caused by the oil being sold & burned. The permission to sell the oil was deemed unlawful & quashed. Another EIA would have to be done & it reconsidered if digging up the oil & selling it would meet EIA standards. The UKSC relied heavily on a Judgment from Norway where this was the system in place, and this was the basis for this system being applied in the UK as well (just because digging up & selling oil can make financial profit, does not mean it is allowed environmentally).
Ratio-decidendi:
'As a judgment of a foreign court, although on the very question in issue before us, this decision only has authority in so far as its reasoning is persuasive. I do find the reasoning of the Oslo court persuasive and agree with it. It entirely accords with what I consider to be the proper interpretation of the EIA Directive’.
Lord Leggatt
Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.