Right to healthy environment, environmental law, human rights, Constitutional Council, European Court of Human Rights, protection of future generations, state liability, environmental protection, sustainable development
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Abstract
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Abstract
The concept of a right to a healthy environment is recognized through national and European case law, establishing a link between health and the environment, and holding authorities accountable for its protection.
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[...] The ECHR has recognized the possibility of holding States liable for actions that are detrimental to the environment or for their lack of action in combating climate changeDoc 2). She admits that the serious environmental nuisances that were not prevented by the States are violations of the rights guaranteed by the ECHRDoc 12). List of documents consulted*: *These documents are available upon request from the customer service. [...]
[...] He had already admitted in 2019 that the right to a healthy environment is a constitutional requirement that can thus be the subject of a proportionality controlDoc 15). French administrative case law has recognized that the right to a healthy environment constitutes a fundamental freedom and that the Charter of the Environment has constitutional valueDocs 7 and 17). At the European level, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) relies on Article 8 of the ECHR relating to respect for private and family lifeDoc 18) in order to recognize a right to a healthy environment, given that environmental damage can impact the quality of life of individualsDocs 2 and 10). [...]
[...] The bringing to account of state liability in the event of a breach and infringement of the right to a healthy environment The breach of obligations related to the right to a healthy environment leads to the engagement of the responsibility of the authorities in charge of ensuring the respect of this right, this is what the Constitutional Council has admitted in a QPC decision of 2011Doc 4). As a result, litigants can contest potentially harmful government decisions for the environment on the basis of the right to a healthy environment and associations are also competent to defend this rightDoc 19). This challenge is also reinforced by Article 1249 of the Civil Code which consecrates ecological damageDocs 20 and 21). However, the Constitutional Council carries out a minimum control of legislative provisions that may impact the right to a healthy environmentDoc 22). [...]
[...] II) The control of the respect by the authorities of the right to a healthy environment The recognition of the right to a healthy environment has enabled the establishment of judicial control and the accountability of public authorities The judicial control of the obligations of public authorities related to the environment Beyond recognizing the right to a healthy environment, the case law ensures the effectiveness of this right through ambitious decisions such as that of May in which the Council of State considers that the measures taken by the government to achieve the objective of reducing greenhouse gases were insufficient and that it had to intensify efforts to achieve this goal (Doc 5). In fact, the Constitutional Council has recognized that the right to a healthy environment constituted the 'the foundation of a duty to act for the State » and even a constitutional value objective (Doc 8). The Council of State has a similar jurisprudence requiring the State to take effective measures to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement and must also prevent measures that could be threats to the environment and health (Docs 13 and 14). [...]
[...] The right to a healthy environment designates 'the right to live in a balanced and health-respecting environment » (Doc and this right consecrates the link between health and the environment ( [...]
