Article : Biodiversity and civil liability: the role of assessment

Mathilde BOUTONNET

Maître de conférences à l’Université Aix-Marseille, CERIC, Bénéficiaire de la Chaire CNRS droit de l’environnement.

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to make the link between expertise and biodiversity through the civil liability Law. Indeed, since Erika Case (Cour de Cassation, Crim. 25 septembre 2012), this Law recognised the ecological damage. This one is defined as an damage caused to Nature and especially Biodiversity. Thus, the expertise has to play a major role. In this paper, two roles are studied: first all all, the expertise allows to assess the damage of Biodiversity itself, to define and to prove it. Secondly, the expertise is an instrument which is very important for prescribing the measures of compensation, in kind or pecuniary compensation.