Abstract (EN)

Territorial development can be considered as a multidimensional process in which individual and collective preferences for land-use and allocation of local resources are confronting. The paper scrutinizes what can be learned from litigation before civil and administrative courts in the field of development related land-use conflicts. Section 1 provides a theoretical framework appropriate to the study of interrelationships between law, land-use conflicts, and economic development. Section 2 argues that the study of litigation before courts provides useful insights into the nature of land-use conflicts in several French administrative territories. Section 3 draws some theoretical conclusions from empirical evidence.