Law 12 of 2012 - Law of the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs.

This Law consisting of 26 articles divided into 5 Chapters aims at (i) laying down the basic rules for the safety of the environment, its protection from pollution, and environmental development; (ii) defining the tasks entrusted to the Ministry of Environment in cooperation with the competent authorities to follow up the implementation of its provisions and the provisions of laws and regulations related to environmental affairs. The main tasks of the Ministry as set out in article 3 are the following (i) setting the vision and general policy for the protection of the environment, preparing the necessary national strategy and setting out plans and programs for their implementation and follow-up; (ii) preparing the legislations and regulations that guarantee the preservation of the environment and the methodology for its orientation towards the green economy; (iii) inventory of existing environmental problems and conduct scientific research and studies to address them, limit the environmental deterioration, and endeavor to limit the emergence of any other environmental problems; (iv) monitoring the elements of the environment through laboratories approved by the Council; (v) laying the foundations and necessary procedures for evaluating the environmental impact; (vi) conducting a strategic environmental assessment of the ministries' plans, policies and work programs; (vii) setting environmental regulations and conditions for industrial facilities and other activities that have a harmful effect on the environment; (viii) determining the standards and indicators of the environmentally permissible upper limit of noise; (ix) determining substances harmful or hazardous to the environment, setting the basis for their classification, storage, handling, transportation, destruction and disposal; (x) preparing environmental emergency plans; (xi) monitoring the procedures for treating pollution in the environment; (xii) monitoring and inspecting the activities with environmental impact at the public and private entities; (xiii) preparing the manuals, requirements and instructions necessary for the classification and management of industrial, hazardous and medical waste; (xiv) laying the foundations for establishing national parks, gardens, and ecological streets and their conditions, laying the foundations for establishing all kinds of nature reserves in accordance with international standards; (xv) setting environmental standards and policies to protect the components of plant and animal biodiversity, whether they are aquatic or terrestrial; (xvi) establishing environmental monitoring networks; (xvii) preparing and organizing the environmental data bank; (xviii) supporting associations and civil society organizations working in the field of environmental protection; (xix) develop environmental public awareness through various media.
Article 8 establishes the creation of a Higher Council for Environmental Protection, chaired by the Prime Minister and formed by the concerned Ministers together with, among others, the President of the General Federation of Trade Unions, the President of the General Federation of Farmers, representatives from the Environmental Associations, Consumer Protection Society, and Women’s Union. The main powers of the Council are (i) approving the vision, the general policy for protecting the environment, its national strategy, its plans and programs; (ii) approving the regulations and conditions related to the environment that must be available in industrial establishments and other activities that have a harmful effect on the environment; (iii) prevent, stop or impose restrictions on the operation of any facility or activity belonging to the public or joint sector that it considers to cause damage to the environment; (iv) approving the regulations, instructions, decisions and executive regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this Law; (v) approve accredited and qualified laboratories to take measurements of the elements of the environment; (vi) approve emergency plans to confront environmental disasters.
An Environmental Support and Protection Fund is established by article 11. The Ministry shall appoint environmental inspectors from among its employees (art.12) with the right of (i) entering the places determined by the Ministry to inspect them from an environmental point of view with the support of the Environmental Police; (ii) suggesting the closure of the violating place that has been warned and the period of warning has passed. Article 13 lists the punished responsibilities and related penalties, including transit of radioactive or dangerous waste, enter these wastes with the intention of dumping them or burying them, uncorrected disposal of solid, industrial, hazardous, medical, liquid or gaseous waste. Tax reductions are provided for who carries out activities that contribute to the preservation of the environment (art.18). The activities and the percentages of reduction they are entitled to shall be determined by a decision issued by the Prime Minister. Furthermore, the Ministry, other public bodies, and environmental associations shall be exempted from fees incurred on their advertisements that aim to preserve the environment and avoid its pollution or deterioration.