Law. Human. Environment

Localisation as legal phenomenon: Industrial parks between economic functionality and environmental responsibility

Viktor Ladychenko, Maksym Sviatnenko
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Abstract

The study aimed to establish the legal essence of industrial parks as a tool for the territorial localisation of industrial activity and to develop mechanisms for harmonising their special legal status with the principles of environmental responsibility through a comprehensive analysis of international practice. The study was conducted based on a comparative legal analysis of the regulatory regimes of industrial parks in five countries and an empirical analysis of their socio-economic and environmental impacts, as well as an analysis of satellite remote sensing data and official environmental statistics. The conceptual analysis revealed a consistent evolution of legal approaches over seven decades, from exclusively economically oriented models of the 1950s-1970s to modern legal regimes, which have integrated the principles of law, sustainable development and climate neutrality. Empirical research in Poland, Germany, China, Vietnam and Ukraine demonstrated a systemic imbalance between the economic benefits and environmental consequences of special territorial regimes: a statistically significant increase in the concentration of nitrogen dioxide by 23%, particulate matter by 28.6% and a catastrophic fivefold increase in biological oxygen demand in water resources was recorded. At the same time, in Germany, with a well-developed institutional system and strict environmental control, a significant reduction in sulphur dioxide emissions by 5% and particulate matter by 9% was achieved. A direct correlation was established between the level of institutional capacity of the state and the effectiveness of environmental management of industrial complexes, and an uneven distribution of socio-economic benefits was revealed, with only 23% of newly created jobs in developing countries going to residents. The results confirmed the existence of a latent conflict between the privileged legal regime of industrial parks and the fundamental principles of legal equality and environmental justice, but also demonstrated the possibility of resolving it through balanced regulatory changes, including the integration of green conditions into the system of economic incentives and the introduction of cumulative liability mechanisms

Keywords

administrative and legal principles; special legal regimes; environmental justice; sustainable development; legal principles of organisation and operation of industrial parks

Suggested citation
Ladychenko, V., & Sviatnenko, M. (2026). Localisation as legal phenomenon: Industrial parks between economic functionality and environmental responsibility. Law. Human. Environment, 17(1), 78-102. https://doi.org/ 10.31548/law/1.2026.78
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