Inter-American Court of Human Rights

Abstract

In a region rich in natural resources, where miningMining and exploration and exploitation of oil and gas have featured prominently, the Inter-American System of International Protection of Human RightsInter-American System of International Protection of Human Rights has acted as a forum for the settlement of environmental disputes Environmental harm via the gateway of human rights claimsHuman rights claims. It has in this manner contributed, already for decades, to the justiciabilityJusticiability of environmental issues using an evolutive and systemic interpretation of the rights under the American Convention on Human RightsAmerican Convention on Human Rights. This chapter examines the doctrines, contributions, and procedural tools at the disposal of the Inter-American System (with a particular focus on the Inter-American Court of Human Rights)Inter-American Court of Human Rights, as a forum resolving disputes involving environmental matters and providing protection for the environment. The chapter identifies the weaknesses and strengths of the system in dealing with environmental cases and the impact its case law is having on the development of international environmental law. This includes examining the ground-breaking ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Advisory Opinion 23Advisory Opinion 23 on Environment and Human Rights, arguably the most significant ruling on environmental issues of any international court to date. It is posited that the Advisory Opinion not only recognises the right to a healthy environmentHealthy environment as fundamental to the existence of humanity, but also that it has the potential to unlock real cross-border remediesRemedies for victims of environmental degradationEnvironmental degradation, including influencing climate change litigationClimate change litigation across the globe. The chapter closes by looking into the emerging jurisprudence after this crucial development, with the first contentious case acknowledging the right to a healthy environmentHealthy environment under the American Convention on Human RightsAmerican Convention on Human Rights (the Lhaka Honhat caseLhaka Honhat case).