Submission of the appeal
Italian Hunting Federation, ANUUMigratoristi, Enalcaccia, Arci Caccia, Italcaccia and Associazione Nazionale Libera Caccia: these are the hunting associations that have lodged an appeal with the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio to recognize the non-binding nature of the Environmental Impact Assessment guidelines (better known as VINCA).
The intervention of WWF and LIPU
The appeal was forwarded against the Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Agricultural Policies and Presidency of the Council of Ministers. Among other things, there was also the intervention of the WWF and LIPU. The TAR was very clear in this sense: “In this regard, it should be noted that the "Habitats" directive was transposed into our legal system with Presidential Decree no. 8 September 1997. 357, whose art. 5 provides for the obligation to subject wildlife and hunting plans to VIncA. The contested Guidelines were then adopted to respond to the need to produce a guideline for the uniform and correct implementation of the art. 6, paragraphs 2, 3, and 4 of the directive".
An act of direction
The ruling continues: “The Guidelines do not, however, modify current national legislation, nor can they be recognized as being of a provisional nature: they constitute an act of direction, shared with Regions and autonomous Provinces. As such, they do not bind the administrative activity of the competent subjects regarding the approval of the hunting calendars, nor could they replace or impact the regulatory and/or administrative acts that the individual institutional subjects are called upon to adopt. Therefore, the same cannot be attributed harmful effect, attributable only to the administrative acts implementing the same, with consequent inadmissibility of the appeal".