Carole M. Billiet, Milieurecht en handhavingstekort: de handhavingsnood in het licht van de te handhaven normen [Environmental Law and Enforcement Deficit: the Enforcement Needs in the Light of the Standards Requiring Compliance], Tijdschrift voor Milieurecht 2007, 294-310
The article contrasts the much-debated ‘enforcement deficit’ in environmental law with the need for enforcement. It attempts to objectify this enforcement need by making an analysis of the enforcement-worthiness of the different categories of standards that exist in our environmental law. The enforcement-worthiness of standards is assessed in the light of (a) their instrumental merit for environmental policy and of (b) standard-specific factors that increase the chance of catching offenders or increase the cost of an infringement and are therefore mitigating the need for enforcement. The enforcement costs specific to the different categories of standards are examined as well.
Full publication (Dutch) here.