Jason Lowther

University of Plymouth | UoP · School of Society and Culture (Law)

We propose a policy cycle for elasmobranch conservation and management and assessed the role and contribution of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) within this cycle on a case study basis for the Mediterranean region. Following a review of shark-related and relevant legal obligations under international and regional instruments, we classified th...

This study examined the integration and application of the precautionary principle at national level for the conservation and management of elasmobranchs. Three countries, Greece, Malta, and Cyprus were assessed. Based on national legislation, policies, and reports, the assessment shows limited integration and application of the precautionary appro...

Report to Historic England in resect of opportunities to more effectively protect underwater cultural heritage in the English and UK Marine Areas.

Coastal cities continue to experience rapid urbanisation and population growth worldwide, linked to the diverse economic and social benefits flowing from proximity to the sea. Growing concern over human impacts upon coastal waters and global strategic goals for healthier cities requires that coastal cities develop innovative ways to inspire and emp...

Against a backdrop of consistentNGOpressure, countered by an unrelenting and increasingly transnational organised crime-framed poaching effort, the Secretary of State for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs moved to enact legislation which will significantly curtail what remains of the market for ivory products in the UK. The Ivory Bill, at the...

A concept of a marine park for coastal cities with application to the Plymouth region in the United Kingdom

A principal driver for sustainability in the UK is the influence of European Union law and policy. Sustainability is a key component of the ultimate purposes of the European Union, and is given specific legal force by the requirement that in conjunction with environmental law and policy it must be integrated into all of the EU’s activities in whate...

Plymouth Law School was an early adopter of the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) credo, and embarked on a series of measures designed to embed sustainability in its law curricula, which have since been refined and developed. This article is intended to supplement the theoretical ESD discourse by offering a reflective assessment of our pr...

Feminist challenges to the traditional principles of vicarious liability highlight the difficulties facing claimants seeking redress via a doctrine largely developed in relation to the corporate model reflecting masculine traits of institutional power and control embedded in the traditional enterprise employer/employee relationship. This article ex...

The evidence base relating to illicit drug markets, drug supply activities and drug seller characteristics increasingly presents a picture of diversity, whereby differing motivations for supplying suggest different levels of culpability and divergence from a homogenised image of the drug dealer. This paper seeks to explore one specific aspect of th...

Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs) established pursuant to the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 became operational in April 2011. IFCAs change the face of English fisheries' management: they retain local authority and industry representation, but a broader base of expertise in marine conservation and other marine stakeholder i...

Protecting the biodiversity of Europe is both practically and legally challenging. The European Union’s primary vehicle to achieve this, the Habitats Directive, adopts a twin approach of requiring Member States to designate and protect certain defined habitat types from negative impacts and also to protect certain species of fauna and flora again...

Important legislative change is underway in the marine environment. In relation to the licensing of activities which are carried out in this zone the need for change is significant for many interested sectors such as: energy generation; the extractive industries; port and harbour developments; fisheries; and bodies involved with the conservation of...

On January 2007, the MSC Napoli was stranded on the United Kingdom's south Devon coast, and due to its worldwide publicity, it exposed serious deficiencies in the relevant authorities' knowledge, understanding and enforcement of the law. The publicity though focused on alleged scenes of public disorder and plunder that accompanied the casting upon...

An overview is given of several headline issues including EC Law, National Parks, Nuclear energy and Wildlife conservation. With regards to EC Law, two cases are covered: Commission v UK (ECJ, Case C-199/04, 1 February 2007) and KVZ retet GmbH v Republik Osterreich (ECJ, Case C-176/ 05, 1 March 2007). As for national parks, "Meyrick Estate Manageme...

Thresholds are used in assisting planning authorities to reach decisions as to whether a project should be subject to a formal assessment of its environmental effects as required by EC law. Applicable laws make sure that the effects of a development project are assessed should there be a likelihood that they will have significant environmental effe...

An overview is given of cases classified under EC Law, Civil Liability, and Waste Management. Under EC Law, three cases are outlined: (1) Environmental assessment; Commission v UK-; (2) Environmental assessment; Commission v UK; and (3) Environmental assessment; Commission v Ireland - UNCLOS and Sellafield. Under Civil Liability, the Barker v Corus...

The main issues on appeal have been related to whether the operations carried out at the four sludge plants amounted to waste treatment and whether the operations at the two effluent treatment plants have been ′directly associated activities′ with the activities undertaken at industrial sites. The appellant has been a statutory water and sewerage u...

This article seeks to examine the possibility of using an existing provision in the Regulation, Article 8(2), to rohibit the keeping of specific specimens listed in the Regulation's Annexes. It also offers that, in the contemporary climate of concern in relation to the conservation of species, other factors, such as welfare, should be understood to...

The case is the second in relation to a particular area of North Wales designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Previously, a decision not to grant a licence to permit the translocation of a population of great crested newts was challenged unsuccessfully in the Court of Appeal by the same claimant. The issue of translocation of the newts...

A case that arose out of a dispute between the Commission and Council as to the correct legal basis for a measure seeking to enhance the effectiveness of the European law as it relates to environmental protection appears to have brought suggestions that the Commission will start to interfere with the criminal law of Member States. The decision is b...

There are a variety of laws that extend protection to wildlife: some, discussed further below, attempt to do this explicity;3 others offer what may be seen to be more in the character of ancillary protection. Offences that regulate pollution, for example, clearly offer certain benefits for wildlife, but could in no way be said to be law purposively...