The C.E.R.D.E.A.U (Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches en Droit de l’Environnement, de l’Aménagement et de l’Urbanisme) is a Research institute of the University Paris 1 - Panthéon-Sorbonne on Environmental, Land Use and Urban Planning Law. The scientific team consists of professors, lecturers and doctors. Many PhD students also complete their studies or research work there, since the C.E.R.D.E.A.U has been certified by the Ministry for Education and Research to welcome the Research Master in Environmental Law.
On the one hand, the C.E.R.D.E.A.U’s team organises various conferences with the Research Master in Environmental Law as well as with the Professional Master in Cultural and Natural Heritage Law, provides guidance and assistance to doctoral students and undertakes numerous other research activities. On the other hand, the C.E.R.D.E.A.U also carries out many collective research projects.
The C.E.R.D.E.A.U’s work focuses on three complementary areas of law which raise similar issues and involve resembling implementation mechanisms. These areas are: environmental law (1), urban planning, land use and housing law (2) and tourism law (3). For each, the C.E.R.D.E.A.U has developed a policy of international scientific co-operation (4).
- Environmental law
The C.E.R.D.E.A.U team is interested in all aspects of environmental law, both at the domestic level (wildlife protection, pollution prevention, etc.) and at the international level (law of the sea, climate change, international trade and the environment, etc.). To that end, the C.E.R.D.E.A.U has been involved in various reseach activities carried out in partnership with the relevant public institutions:
- In May 2005, the C.E.R.D.E.A.U was charged by the French Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development to provide legal assistance on a reform bill on public participation in administrative decisions (“enquêtes publiques”). Based on a contract signed by both parties, the C.E.R.D.E.A.U team carried out an inventory of all legal sources in force dealing with such informative and participative legal instrument.
- Under another contract signed between the C.E.R.D.E.A.U and the French Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development (“Research program on law and prevention of natural risk”), the C.E.R.D.E.A.U team was further charged with providing legal assistance on the implementation of various procedures aimed at preventing natural risks. To that end, the team’s activites included the selection and analysis of appropriate caselaw, the creation of a data base, as well as the organisation of workshops on natural risks prevention.
- Between 2006 and 2008, a research convention was signed between the C.E.R.D.E.A.U and the “Research Mission on Law and Justice” (a common initiative of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the Ministry of Justice) entitled “Globalization of legal concepts: the example of environmental law”. The research was conducted under the supervision of Professor Jacqueline MORAND-DEVILLER and led to an international symposium which took place at the Sorbonne in December 2008. The conclusions of such symposium were later published in the 22nd volume of the Bibliothèque de l'Institut de Recherche Juridique de la Sorbonne – André Tunc, IRJS éditions.
Among the various conferences organized by the C.E.R.D.E.A.U, the most recent one took place on November 8, 2011. This conference focused on the issue of the Extended Producer Responsibility and waste take-back liability in Europe and France ("La responsabilité du producteur du fait des déchets"). The various oral presentations made at the conference will be published in 2012 by the éditions Bruylant.
As will be mentioned below, in 2008, the C.E.R.D.E.A.U organized a conference on “Climate change and spatial planning”, supported by the French Ministry of the Interior, with a simultaneous translation in French and English.
- Urban planning, land use planning and housing law
A significant part of the C.E.R.D.E.A.U's work also focuses on urban planning, land use and housing law. The C.E.R.D.E.A.U is even one of the leading research institutes in these fields.
Consequently, the C.E.R.D.E.A.U is hosting the office of the French Association for Land Use Law (Association Française de Droit de l'Urbanisme – AFDRU), which stands as the main network for research on this topic in France. The association is directed by Professor Jacqueline MORAND-DEVILLER and its Secretary General is Professor Yves JEGOUZO. In addition, the International Association for Land Use Law (Association Internationale de Droit de l'Urbanisme AIDRU) is also headquarted at the C.E.R.D.E.A.U. Last, the C.E.R.D.E.A.U is a founder member of the GRIDAUH (Groupement de Recherche sur les institutions et le droit de l'aménagement, de l'urbanisme et de l'habitat), a public research group on legal and institutional aspects of land use planning, urban planning and housing, founded in 1996. In this regard, the C.E.R.D.E.AU's members contribute to the redaction and stand in the scientific committee of the yearly published review of « Droit de l'aménagement, de l'urbanisme et de l'habitat » (Land use planning, urban planning and housing law) published by Le Moniteur. For example, the chapter on “Opérations d'aménagement” (land use planning projects) is written by the C.E.R.D.E.A.U team.
Within this network, the team members are also involved in the organization of many conferences and publications.
For instance:
- In collaboration with the Département de Droit Public Économique (Economic Public Law Department), the C.E.R.D.E.A.U organized a conference on “Large-scale Real Estate property owners in Ile-de-France – Strategies and Partnerships” (“Les grands propriétaires fonciers en Ile-de-France - Stratégies et partenariats"), on March 24, 2011.
- In September 2007, with the International Association for Land Use Law (Association internationale de droit de l'urbanisme – AIDRU), the C.E.R.D.E.A.U organized an international symposium on “Environment in urban planning Law in Europe”, in co-operation with the AFDRU, the GRIDAUH and the Société de Législation Comparée (Comparative Law Society) (conclusions and findings published in Cahier du GRIDAUH n°18-2008)
- In June 2006, the C.E.R.D.E.A.U organized a one-day-workshop on “Land use, urban planning, housing law and crime prevention – comparative approach” (“Droit de l'Aménagement, de l'urbanisme et de l'habitat et prévention de la délinquance - approche comparative" ) with the help of the Centre d'Etudes et de Prospective of the Ministry of the Interior and of the GRIDAUH.
Illustrative of its commitment to international cooperation, the C.E.R.D.E.A.U has recently received fundings for the years 2009 to 2012 to manage a project on “Governance and legal issues of sustainable development” in partnership with Mohammed V University in Rabat (Morocco) : exchange of lecturers and students, organization of conferences and seminars.
Previously the C.E.R.D.E.A.U has also participated in the management of the “Land use and sustainable development” Program with the same university (exchange of lecturers and hosting of Moroccan PhD students, conferences and seminars). This integrated program has been rated first in law, social and political sciences, economics and management and received subsidies from 2004 to 2007. Three international symposia were organized during this program (Public-private partnership ; cities management policies : urban integration and social cohesion ; Human Rights and security governance). The Proceedings of these symposia have been published by l'Harmattan.
In addition, the C.E.R.D.E.A.U has directed many research works :
- In October 2011, a convention was signed with the SORGEM (société d’économie mixte du val d’orge) which provides urban planning services. The purpose of the contract is to organize learning and training sessions about ongoing legislative and regulatory reforms in the area of urban law and planning.
- In December 2009 a two-year-convention was signed with the City of Paris. The City provided financial support to a research-work lead by the C.E.R.D.E.A.U on “Singularities of the institutional framework of Paris with regard to the Act dated December 31, 1982 about Paris, Lyon and Marseille administrative organization: impact, evolution and implementation” .
- In December 2010 a two-year-contract was signed with the Ministry for Ecology and Sustainable Development on the various components that constitute a « future value gain » when the government engages in a taking of property to carry out housing projects.
- Since June 2009, the GRIDAUH has been providing a legal assessment of the implementation of the Act dated March 5, 2007 creating an “enforceable right to housing” (droit au logement opposable), for the Ministry of Housing and the Research Mission on Law and Justice”. This assessment aims to collect and analze the main decisions of the “commissions départementales” and the local jurisdictions in eight departments. To that end, the C.E.R.D.E.A.U is committed to study three departments in Ile-de-France : Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Seine et Marne. A conference was organized in June 2010 to present and discuss the first conclusions of this work.
- In May 2008 the C.E.R.D.E.AU organized a conference on “Climate change and spatial planning”, supported by the French Ministry of the Interior and the GRIDAUH, with a simultaneous translation in French and English.
- From 2006 to 2007, the CERDEAU passed a contract with the French Ministry of the Interior to work on “Urban planning and public security”
- During the same time period, the CERDEAU wrote a report for the Ministry of Transportations on land use policies and strategies of local authorities (“Content and consistency of local real property policies, counties real property strategies and public associations for intermunicipal cooperation with respect to applicable legislation”).
- Tourism law
Since 2011, the CERDEAU has decided to work on a new research field: tourism law.
On November 16 2011, the C.E.R.D.E.A.U. organized a conference on “Tourism and crisis management : the example of the arab spring”.
- International co-operation
The CERDEAU has always been committed to developing international partnerships with research institutes of various countries on all continents. The aim is to go beyond the national framework and to study environmental, land use and urban planning law within an international approach.
The team-members take part every two years in the international Conference of the International Association for Land Use Law. The last conference took place in September in Coïmbra (Portugal). All European experts on urban planning law participated in this conference on “Contractualization of urban planning law”. The previous congress took place in September 2009 in Thessalonica (Greece) and dealt with “The issue of risk in land use law”.
The collective research project on “Globalization of legal concepts : the example of environmental law” (aforementioned) is also characterized by its international dimension.
Other international co-operation projects of the C.E.R.D.E.A.U include:
- A partnership with Mohamed V University in Rabat (cf. supra)
- A two-year program (2009-2011) with South Korea on “Sustainable cities and rivers”, financed by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- The CERDEAU also participated in the Conference on Tourism Law organized by the Law Institute of the University of Tbilissi (Georgia).