European courts have an important role to play in contributing to the legitimacy of EU environmental governance. Their role in holding to account and scrutinizing administrative and legislative acts is critical to the overall legitimacy of the political system. However, the boundaries of legitimacy in governance are themselves being shaped by the environmental context. This volume explores how the environment affects the ways in which the courts can support the legitimacy of EU governance, and, in turn, what the courts themselves bring to the table in enhancing that legitimacy.

The Legitimacy of EU Environmental Governance and the Role of the European Courts considers soft law, human rights, the environmental principles, judicial procedures and remedies, and the wider European law context, to examine the dynamics which shape the courts' contributions to legitimacy.

Bringing together leading authors in EU constitutional and administrative law and EU environmental law, this book explores the ways in which environmental degradation is shifting how the courts, and we, assess what legitimate governance actually consists of.