The K-Zone: R v Environment Agency ex parte Marchiori (2002)

This case ([2002] EWCA Civ 3) challenged the authority of the Environment Agency to issue permits for the discharge of nuclear waste from sites producing Trident missiles. It was claimed that the Radioactive Substances Act (1993), from which authority was derived, was in breach of the Euratom Treaty of 1957. The environment agency held that in fact the relevant section of the Treaty was not intended to apply to military installations. In the Court of Appeal, doubt was expressed that the Treaty could be read as not applying to military sites, but this was irrelevant as the Court could not rule on the legality of the 1993 Act under international law.

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