Ensuring Environmental Justice (EJ) through Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in Bangladesh

Abstract

The legal system in Bangladesh has recently adopted the term Public Interest Litigation (PIL), which is a novel idea that provides complete rationale for the widely acknowledged notion that humans are social animals. It is founded on the necessity of the public interest or the violation of the public rights and is known as constitutional jurisprudence. The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) mechanism was established to enable common persons to submit a letter and bring this matter to the attention of the highest court. PIL proceedings are now an essential component of the nation's legal system. Notwithstanding these drawbacks, judicial activism is a highly significant potential tool that the judiciary can use in Bangladesh to uphold and advance the rule of law and human rights. Enhancing the rule of law, advancing fundamental rights, and applying the law equally to citizens and states are the responsibility of the judiciary. Laws can be shaped by the judiciary, which can also provide them direction and consistency. However, the nomination mechanism of the current government and judges' commitment to uphold the values of their specific jurisdictions serve to restrain the radicalism of the judiciary. Judges in Bangladesh are more inclined than other government bodies to make unpopular but ultimately wise verdicts since they are not engaged in political politics. The public anticipated that the courts would play a more significant role in resolving environmental problems as a result of the court's broadening of the definition of the right to life to include environmental protection. This essay explores the concept of access to justice via public interest litigation in a number of Bangladeshi court rulings.