Legal theoretical Study on the Correlations between the Scientific Assessment System and the Public Interests Estimation System concerning the Development Projects

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This study shows that The Japanese Act of 1997 on the Environmental Impact Assessment has three fundamental characteristics. First the Environmental Impact Assessment based on this Act is the system for the exchange of informations and opinions upon environmental impacts but not for the formation of a public consent upon a development project. Secondly it is a assessment system focused upon a development project but not on a fundamental planning nor on a basic policy. Thirdly it is a assessment system focalized on environmental impacts but not on socio-economic impacts.On the other hand, this study shows that the French assessment system for public interests is composed of multilateral procedures:(1) procedure of environmental impact statement properly so called (etude d'impact) , which is assumed by the developer.(2) procedure of public hearing (enquete publique) , which is presided by a neutral commission or commissioner and functions as a system of formation of a public consent.(3) procedure of public debate ( debat public ) , which is performed at an early stage of a project planning concerning especially big development projects inciting much of interests on the national level.(4)procedure of public negociation (concertation) on the municipal level, which is performed at an early stage of the urban planning or urban transport policy.According to the French system summed up above, the Environmental Impact Assessment and the participation of the citizens divide into separate procedures, so that the scientific assessment and the formation of a public consent can be worked out sufficiently maintaining their mutual correlations. We have to refer to this separate type of public interests assessment, when we will consider the introduction of a public interests estimation system in the process of elaboration of a fundamental planning or policy.