EXTRAORDINARY CANCELLATION OF DECISIONS: PUBLIC INTEREST AND INTEREST OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

The paper examines the possibilities of application of an Extraordinary Cancellation of Decision as the last legal measure to protect the right of every person to a healthy environment. The author analyzes the legal nature of the Extraordinary Cancellation, describes the prerequisites for its application and explains the uniqueness of its application in environmental protection. In order to find the basic elements for determining the notion of ‘public interest’ and ‘serious and immediate threat’ to interests stipulated by law and defining relations between the public interest and the interest of environmental protection, a special attention is given to Serbian Constitutional Court and ECHR case law. The author presents arguments for the application of Extraordinary Cancellation in environmental protection, points out the practical issues that justify limitation or even cancellation of rights acquired in accordance with the integrated or energy permit, and indicates the application of relevant case law on making a fair balance between demands of general community interest and requirements for individual’s fundamental rights protection.