Law of Georgia on Environmental Protection (No. 519-IS of 1996)

This Law regulates legal relations in the field of environmental protection and the use of natural resources between state bodies and natural and legal persons (regardless of their ownership and organisational and legal form) throughout Georgia, including its territorial waters, airspace, continental shelf and exclusive economic zone. The main goals of this Law are to: a) determine principles and norms of legal relations in the field of environmental protection; b) protect fundamental human rights established by the Constitution of Georgia in the field of environmental protection, in particular the right to live in a healthy environment and the right to enjoy the natural and the cultural environment; c) ensure the protection of the environment and the rational use of natural resources by the State, and ensure a healthy environment in accordance with the environmental and economic interests of society and taking into account the interests of present and future generations; d) support the preservation of biological diversity and of rare, endemic and endangered species of flora and fauna typical of the country, and support the protection of, and ensure ecological balance within, the marine environment; e) preserve and protect natural landscapes and ecosystems; f) provide a legal framework for resolving common global and regional issues in the field of environmental protection; g) ensure appropriate conditions for the sustainable development of the country. The main objectives of this Law are to: a) protect and maintain a safe environment for human health; b) provide a legal framework for the protection of the environment from adverse impacts; c) ensure the maintenance or the improvement of environmental quality; d) ensure an optimum balance between (or a harmonious combination of) the environmental, economic and social interests of society; e) provide a legal framework for managing the use of natural resources, taking into consideration the principles of potentials and the sustainable development of the environment; and f) ensure the efficient functioning of the unified system of regulation of genetically modified living organisms. The main environmental principles are: the risk reduction principle; the sustainability principle; the priority principle; the user pays principle; the polluter pays principle; the biological diversity preservation principle; the waste minimisation principle; the recycling principle; the restitution principle; the environmental impact assessment principle; the public participation principle; and the information accessibility principle. Among others, the Law also provides for the protection of the climate from global changes and for the protection of the ozone layer. The Law is divided into 17 chapters and 59 articles.