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

这项研究表明，日本1997年颁布的《环境影响评价法》具有三个基本特点。首先，以该法为基础的环境影响评估是交流环境影响信息和意见的制度，而不是形成对发展项目的公众同意的制度。第二，这是一个侧重于发展项目而不是基本规划或基本政策的评估制度。另一方面，这项研究表明，法国的公共利益评估体系由多个程序组成：(1)由开发商承担的环境影响陈述程序(etude d‘Impact)。(2)由中立的委员会或专员主持的公开听证程序，其功能是形成公众同意的制度。(3)公开辩论程序(Debat Public)，(4)在城市规划或城市交通政策的早期阶段进行的市政层面的公众协商程序。根据上面总结的法国制度，环境影响评估和公民参与分为不同的程序，以便充分地进行科学评估和形成公众同意，并保持它们之间的相互关系。当我们在制订基本规划或政策的过程中，会考虑引入公众利益评估制度时，我们必须参考这类独立的公众利益评估。

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.