The European Court of Human Rights and the environment

Abstract

Environmental protection has been a long-standing question before the European Court of Human Rights. The case-law of the ECtHR is vast and extensive. Nevertheless, the protection offered by this regional human rights protection system is limited. It applies to present generations who claim to be victims of present and immediate threats to those human rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Also the right to a clean and healthy environment is not protected per se under the ECHR. Some might therefore argue that the ECHR is ill-suited to deal with all the threats to the environment with which modern environmental law is faced today, such as the loss of biodiversity and climate change. Others find the ECHR applies also to those scenarios. Taking a middle ground, this contribution looks at the current status of environmental protection offered under the ECHR regime and outlines possible future developments, taking into account some of the recent developments in other international human rights regimes.