Human Right to a Healthy Environment: Origins and Development of this Right in European Union
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Abstract
The aim of this article is to analyse a human right to a healthy environment in European Union answering the question, if such right really exists in nowadays EU.
The author intends to prove the existence of such right.
This indicates the growing number of EU legal acts providing human health protection from harmful environmental effects.
The article introduce concepts of „environment“, „healthy environment“ and „human right to a healthy environment“ and analyses origins and development of such right.
The EU environmental policy development could be divided into four periods. This shows the growing efforts to regulate and limit negative environmentally based factors with the help of EU legal measures. Threats to environment and human health were better understood in basic objectives of Sixth EU Environmental Action Program. These objectives also highlight the importance of access to justice in environmental matters. Achievement of these goals depends on how the procedural side of the right to the healthy environment is strong; it is not sufficient just constant the existence of substantive right to a healthy environment.
Despite there are no direct references and no direct statements constituting right to a healthy environment in EC Treaties establishing European Community, the existence of a number of EU legal acts providing legal statements proves the indirect maintenance of this type of human right in EU.
Because of the lack of EU legal acts, implementing Convention on Access to information, Public Participation in Decision making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Åarhus Covention), the real enforcing of an environmental human right to the healthy environment still remains weak.
But a Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on Access to Justice in Environmental Matters clearly points that adoption of needed EU acts implementing Åarhus Convention is on the way and this means more effective enforcement of this right in the future.
The author intends to prove the existence of such right.
This indicates the growing number of EU legal acts providing human health protection from harmful environmental effects.
The article introduce concepts of „environment“, „healthy environment“ and „human right to a healthy environment“ and analyses origins and development of such right.
The EU environmental policy development could be divided into four periods. This shows the growing efforts to regulate and limit negative environmentally based factors with the help of EU legal measures. Threats to environment and human health were better understood in basic objectives of Sixth EU Environmental Action Program. These objectives also highlight the importance of access to justice in environmental matters. Achievement of these goals depends on how the procedural side of the right to the healthy environment is strong; it is not sufficient just constant the existence of substantive right to a healthy environment.
Despite there are no direct references and no direct statements constituting right to a healthy environment in EC Treaties establishing European Community, the existence of a number of EU legal acts providing legal statements proves the indirect maintenance of this type of human right in EU.
Because of the lack of EU legal acts, implementing Convention on Access to information, Public Participation in Decision making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Åarhus Covention), the real enforcing of an environmental human right to the healthy environment still remains weak.
But a Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on Access to Justice in Environmental Matters clearly points that adoption of needed EU acts implementing Åarhus Convention is on the way and this means more effective enforcement of this right in the future.
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Articles
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Authors retain copyright of their work, with first publication rights granted to the Association for Learning Technology.
Please see Copyright and Licence Agreement for further details.
