Reforming the Rules on Designation

This chapter aims at suggesting sensible reforms for the individual issues identified in the law of designation under the Habitats Directive to facilitate Member States’ compliance with their legal duties. The main contribution of this chapter will thus be a systematic assessment of the Habitats Directive’s designation provisions one after another with a focus on their weaknesses initially identified in the previous chapters. The interpretation method used for this assessment will orientate on the CJEU’s legal interpretation technique but also consider elements such as selected national and international legal interpretation techniques and CJEU case law. This chapter will provide a reform suggestion for each identified weakness in the law on designating Natura 2000 as well as a proposal regarding its location in the Habitats Directive.