Human Rights and the Environment
There is increasing urgency for legal systems to respond and ensure protection of the
environment and protect those who suffer due to environmental degradation. Human
right protection is not aiming at the same thing as environmental protection, but are often
complementary. Complexity and messiness is source of sustained criticism.
Court has associated infringements of rights with reference to public and general
interests - recognition of the importance of environmental protection in today’s political
landscape rather than rights for the environment. Participation is a key theme.
D. Shelton, [1991] “Potentially conflicting differences of emphasis still exist: the essential
concern of HR law is to protect individuals in a given society, whilst the purpose of
environmental law is to sustain life globally by balancing the needs and capacities of the
present with those of the future”
A river in New Zealand has been granted the same legal rights as human beings - harm
to the river seen the same as harming the tribe, as they are at one.
Environmental Principles: The creation of enforceable environmental rights helps to
ensure national standards of environmental protection while allowing for local control /
development. Environmental protection is often said to be supported by the human right
to life and to property. If human rights are environmental rights, those rights will be
“framed” the HR discourse.
Environmental rights: Can be sub-divided into 3 main categories: 1. The form of rights
to the environment - substantive, they provide a means of protecting the factual state of
the environment, e.g. a right to a clean environment. 2. Rights “relating to” the
environment - procedural rights - allow the individual to indirectly protect the
environment; access to information regarding the environment; litigation on
environmental matters etc. 3. Rights which vest in the environment itself - ecocentric
approach. Controversial. C.D Stone’s “should trees have standing”. Advocates suggest
guardians of the environment should be given the opportunity to sue on behalf of
environmental risk.
Human right in national and European law: may be able to bring a claim against a
national court, court of the EU or ECHR. EC been reluctant to apply rights and legislation,
unless of “direct and individual concern”.
World Commission on Environment and Development 1987: Unimplemented suggestions
of principles, “all humans have the fundamental right to an environment adequate for
health and wellbeing”.
Stockholm Declaration 1972: Hints for a substantive right to the environment - vague.
Stresses the importance of the environment to the enjoyment of other rights.
Paris Summit 1972 - EC attention on the environment. Create an action programme.
Directive on Bathing Water Quality 1975: public interest in the environment and its
improvement is increasing.
First action programme on the environment 1973: Environment on the EC’s agenda
Directive on EIA 1985: Art.6 information concerning activities covered by the directive
should be made available to the public.
Single European Act 1987: (SEA) environmental protections into the treat. Amended in
Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice treaties. Further changes proposed in the Lisbon treaty.
Convention of the Rights of the Child 1989: Article 24: dangers and standards of health.
As a way of implementing the right, dangers and risk of environmental pollution fall
under this right.
Criticised: Lex ferenda (what the law should be) rather than
There is increasing urgency for legal systems to respond and ensure protection of the
environment and protect those who suffer due to environmental degradation. Human
right protection is not aiming at the same thing as environmental protection, but are often
complementary. Complexity and messiness is source of sustained criticism.
Court has associated infringements of rights with reference to public and general
interests - recognition of the importance of environmental protection in today’s political
landscape rather than rights for the environment. Participation is a key theme.
D. Shelton, [1991] “Potentially conflicting differences of emphasis still exist: the essential
concern of HR law is to protect individuals in a given society, whilst the purpose of
environmental law is to sustain life globally by balancing the needs and capacities of the
present with those of the future”
A river in New Zealand has been granted the same legal rights as human beings - harm
to the river seen the same as harming the tribe, as they are at one.
Environmental Principles: The creation of enforceable environmental rights helps to
ensure national standards of environmental protection while allowing for local control /
development. Environmental protection is often said to be supported by the human right
to life and to property. If human rights are environmental rights, those rights will be
“framed” the HR discourse.
Environmental rights: Can be sub-divided into 3 main categories: 1. The form of rights
to the environment - substantive, they provide a means of protecting the factual state of
the environment, e.g. a right to a clean environment. 2. Rights “relating to” the
environment - procedural rights - allow the individual to indirectly protect the
environment; access to information regarding the environment; litigation on
environmental matters etc. 3. Rights which vest in the environment itself - ecocentric
approach. Controversial. C.D Stone’s “should trees have standing”. Advocates suggest
guardians of the environment should be given the opportunity to sue on behalf of
environmental risk.
Human right in national and European law: may be able to bring a claim against a
national court, court of the EU or ECHR. EC been reluctant to apply rights and legislation,
unless of “direct and individual concern”.
World Commission on Environment and Development 1987: Unimplemented suggestions
of principles, “all humans have the fundamental right to an environment adequate for
health and wellbeing”.
Stockholm Declaration 1972: Hints for a substantive right to the environment - vague.
Stresses the importance of the environment to the enjoyment of other rights.
Paris Summit 1972 - EC attention on the environment. Create an action programme.
Directive on Bathing Water Quality 1975: public interest in the environment and its
improvement is increasing.
First action programme on the environment 1973: Environment on the EC’s agenda
Directive on EIA 1985: Art.6 information concerning activities covered by the directive
should be made available to the public.
Single European Act 1987: (SEA) environmental protections into the treat. Amended in
Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice treaties. Further changes proposed in the Lisbon treaty.
Convention of the Rights of the Child 1989: Article 24: dangers and standards of health.
As a way of implementing the right, dangers and risk of environmental pollution fall
under this right.
Criticised: Lex ferenda (what the law should be) rather than
