Study of the case-law of the european court for human rights applicable to the environment law

This paper presents a study of the case-law of the European Court for Human Rights applicable to the Environment Law. As a very recent kind of right, the right to a healthy and ecologically balanced environment has had the fastest development in its generation, as for its warranty and effectiveness by the way of law. Thus, we can notice it has become part of the constitution of several states within only a few decades, facilitating appropriate developments at regional and international levels. This study shows that the appearance of the global environment issues (greenhouse effect, climate changes, thinning of the ozone layer, etc.) contributed to the reinforcement of its status: a fundamental right and also the right of the humankind to survive. By our analysis of the case-law establishment, we underline the fact that the right to a healthy environment was stated by the way of interpreting the art. 8.1 in the European Convention on Human Rights, in the absence of an explicit statement in the matter. Thus, the right to a healthy environment is considered a part of the right to private and family life, protected by a "bounding" effect (the extension of the protection provided by certain rights warranted by the Convention to rights that are not expressly stated therein. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Huseyin Arasli