CONTRIBUTION OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS TO THE PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

Although there is no provision in the European Convention on Human Rights relating to the protection of the environment, the European Court of Human Rights has made important contributions to environmental protection by applying teleological and dynamic interpretation methods and developing theories of positive obligations and horizontal effect. The Court has considered the protection of the environment as a component of general interest, interpreted certain rights and freedoms provided by the Convention as conferring to the individual the right to a healthy environment and set forth various procedural guarantees for the individual to use this right effectively. However, the Court's contribution to environmental protection has its limits. As the environment is not directly protected under the Convention, it is obvious that the indirect protection is limited to the extent that it is in connection with the rights and freedoms. Another limitation to the protection of the environment is the wide margin of appreciation recognized to States Parties in this regard.