Environmental rights of citizens and legal safeguards for their protection: challenges for the future

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to analyze the environmental rights of citizens and guarantees of their protection. To achieve the results of the study a systematic approach and various scientific methods were applied, in particular: dialectical, formal-logical, comparative-legal. As a result of the conducted research, the interrelation between international environmental law and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights concerning environmental rights was considered. The study analyzed the development of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and concluded that the European Convention on Human Rights lacks a clear recognition of the right to a healthy environment. The importance of the environment for the realization of human rights has been proven to be widely recognized in international law. The assumption that a human right to a healthy environment can arise in international law raises a number of theoretical and practical problems for human rights, with such problems arising both within and outside the human rights debate. The quality of the natural environment has been found to affect the ability of governments to uphold numerous statutory human rights. The research concludes that human rights law can make a positive contribution to environmental protection, but the precise nature of the relationship between the environment and human rights requires a more critical and deeper analysis of environmental rights issues. The article analyzes the thesis regarding the guarantee of human rights to a safe environment.