Environmental and Public Law

Kromann Reumert's environmental and public law group assists in all cases involving administrative law issues and we always include general administrative law when solving specific tasks involving sectoral legislation.

We have extensive experience in advising on the legal aspects in relation to public law, including in relation to the Public Administration Act and the Public Records Act.

Our extensive litigation experience gives us special qualifications to assist business clients and/or authorities in connection with complicated and complex “administrative law cases”, i.e. legal proceedings for the purpose of reviewing of the legality of the administrative acts or considering public authorities’ liability.

Under the Planning Act and other legislation, local authorities may aquire real estate compulsorily for the purpose of implementing specific plans or safeguarding other interests.

Protection under the Nature Protection Act are also in the nature of compulsory acqusition resulting in full compensation.

We offer assistance in relation to:

• Assessing and challenging the legality of the compulsory acqusition
• Assessing the amount of compensation

- Or sale or purchase of (commercial) property

Business transfers and major property transfers often involve environmental questions.

Such transfers typically give rise to questions about the buyer’s risk of assuming known and unknown obligations in relation to the operation of the enterprise or contamination of the property.

Our expertise

We are highly experienced in assisting clients in business and property transfers for the purpose of assessing and handling actual or potential environmental risks in connection with the transaction.

We also assist in the drafting of relevant clauses in the transaction documents.

Kromann Reumert's environmental and public law group often assists business clients and authorities in connection with specific inquiries about the understanding of specific areas of complex legislation.

We also assist in specific cases or disputes, providing legal advice on issues such as:

• Environmental law orders and enforcement and prohibition notices
• Disputes with public authorities
• Complaints before the Danish Environmental Appeal Board and/or court proceedings, including in cases of invalid regulatory requirements or cases involving questions of principle

-Including i.a. the non-statutory powers of municipalities and municipal business activity

Kromann Reumert's environmental and public law group assists in cases relating to the special legal position of municipalities, advising i.a. on:

• The compatibility of specific municipal transactions with the non-statutory powers of municipalities
• Municipalities’ authority to carry on business activities, in corporate form or otherwise

We have considerable experience in municipal company formation, including in connection with:

• Specific urban renewal projects
• The current separation of operational and regulatory responsibilities in the water supply sector, which will also be implemented in the waste disposal sector before long

 We also provide legal advice on the rules of the Municipal Government Act.

In many ways, environmental and public law regulation also involves issues of liability and damages, including:

• The constitutional right to full compensation in cases involving compulsory acqusition
• The relation between public law and tort law in relation to the liability which a polluter may incur under the Contaminated Soil Act
• The liability of public authorities if they make an invalid decision that causes a loss to the addressee
• Also, there are new and complex rules on environmental liability and the special Environmental Damages Act. Furthermore, issues of liability and damages may arise in the relation between a buyer and a seller of a contaminated property

Kromann Reumert's environmental and public law group is highly experienced in assessing issues of liability and/or damages in any legal context, and we also assist in complaints and legal proceedings involving these issues.

Kromann Reumert's environmental and public law group is very experienced in advising on other real estate legislation, including the rules of the Nature Protection Act on protection lines, the general prohibition of altering listed buildings, and preservation and protection.

We typically assist in:

• Assessing the validity and legality of specific measures or questions of liability 
• Applying for exemptions from a general prohibition or listing requirement
• Filing complaints to the Nature Protection Board of Appeal and/or the valuation authorities

- And real estate regulation

Kromann Reumert's environmental and public law group renders advice on all issues relation to planning regulation, use of land and other real estate regulations. Importantly, we also involve in our counselling the interaction with other areas of law, including environmental and building law, when making recommendations.

We advise on all conventional planning law issues, including:

• Local development plans and the duty to draw up such plans
• Strategic environmental assessments
• Environmental impact assessments (EIA)
• Compliance with the authorities' requirements

Furthermore, we have particular expertise in special areas such as the retail trade rules of the Planning Act and the rules on the development of urban areas and ports. Thus, we have in the past few years advised existing enterprises in areas selected for urban renewal on planning, environmental and lease issues arising when areas that are traditionally subject to pollution and noise are selected for sensitive use.

Finally, the group has extensive experience in advising on other real estate regulation, i.a. the rules of the Nature Protection Act on protection lines, the general prohibition of altering listed buildings, and preservation and protection.

We typically assist in:

• Assessing the validity and legality of specific measures or questions of liability 
• Applying for exemptions from a general prohibition or listing requirement
• Filing complaints to the Nature Protection Board of Appeal and/or the valuation authorities

Kromann Reumert's environmental and public law group provides legal advice within all areas of the Danish Contaminated Soil Act.

We advise on:

• The Contaminated Soil Act and the scope of the statutory authority issue notices 
• The interaction between the rules of the Environmental Protection Act and the general law of damages, including:
• The system of designating contaminated areas
• The loss of value schemes
• Regulatory requirements for the investigations or decontaminations

Kromann Reumert's environmental and public law group advises on all aspects of waste legislation, including:

• Waste collection, disposal and recycling of waste;
• The transportation of environmentally dangerous substances/waste

We advise on the general rules of the Environmental Protection Act and the waste order and the relation to overall EU waste regulation of the waste area.

Furthermore, we have extensive ex-perience in special areas, including the determination of waste charges and the regulation of electronic waste etc. (WEEE).