Functions of civil liability in the environmental law

Abstract

According to Art. 86 of the Polish Constitution of the 2nd April 1997, everyone is obliged to care for the state of the environment and is responsible for causing its degradation. This constitutional rule determines the material scope and the personal obligation of non-deterioration of the environment, pointing to the relevant principles laid down by law. These stipulated principles are mainly in the Environmental Protection Act of the 27th April 2001 (EPA), and in the Civil Code of the 23rd of April 1964 to the extent that the EPA does not provide otherwise. Some areas of responsibility, for example historical pollution or nuclear damage, are regulated differently. They constitute specific regulations in relation to the general rules of the Civil Code or separate, stand-alone legislation. All kinds of tort liability, i.e. on the basis of guilt, on the basis of risk, and on the basis of equity principle, can have a reference to restitution (natural), compensation and prevention as the three basic functions of civil liability for damage caused by the impact on the environment and damage to the environment.