Diverse perspectives on environmental justice in U.S. law and European law

Environmental justice emerged in the United States of America in the 60s. It expresses the idea of environmental protection through human rights and specifically the use of the right to non-discrimination. This approach is to explore as much for its originality than for its growing reception in European law. It is based on the assumption that the environment is an undetermined concept; its meaning cannot be imposed. Certainly, environmental justice bears the scars of its genesis: the immanence of rights and freedoms in the United States does not allow a determination of their content by the public authorities. So much so that everyone can assert his own view on the environment. As a result, the rules of non-discrimination do not have equalization as only function, they also tend to ensure the self-determination of the meaning and content of the rights and in doing so, self-determination of the idea of environment. Far from being sealed in such an approach, the judges of the European Court of Human Rights also tend to take into account the subjective representations of the environment. This does not question the relationship between public policy on environment-based on a broad appreciation margin from the states- and the individualized approach to the environment. It is therefore a matter of studying the American discussion on environmental justice to identify the ideas, thoughts and susceptibilities, to then question the evolution of European law.