Of Ostensible Self-Restraint, Explicit Environmental Protection, and a Missing Link: The Appropriate Assessment in Italy

The present chapter first sets the ground of the investigation by shortly describing how the Habitats (HD) and Birds Directives (WBD) were implemented in Italy . The illustration of both the doctrines of judicial restraint and of the limited tools administrative courts have to access the facts of the case will then follow. A number of cases will be analysed. However, the sharp dichotomy between facts and law is a poor guide to understanding judicial review in Italy.