Case 2012 (Gyo-Hi) 267
Country: JapanYear: 2012
Court: Fukuoka High Court
Citation: Minshu Vol. 68, No. 6
Health Topics: Environmental health
Human Rights: Right to a clean environment
The governor of the Miyazaki Prefecture granted permission for a company that collects, transports, and disposes of industrial waste to establish an industrial waste treatment facility. When the company applied for permission, it submitted a document called the “Environmental Impact Survey Report,” which detailed the survey results regarding the impact of the establishment of the …Read more
SERAP v. Federal Republic of Nigeria
Country: NigeriaYear: 2012
Court: The Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
Citation: JUDGMENT N° ECW/CCJ/JUD/18/12.
Health Topics: Diet and nutrition, Environmental health, Public safety, Water, sanitation and hygiene
Human Rights: Right to a clean environment, Right to food, Right to health, Right to water and sanitation
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), a non-governmental organization, filed a case against the Federal Republic of Nigeria alleging human rights violations as a result of the government’s failure to ensure adequate environmental protection in the Niger Delta due to oil spillage. SERAP alleged that decades of oil prospection and exploitation by private corporations …Read more
Balderas Woolrich v. Mexico
Country: MexicoYear: 2011
Court: Supreme Court
Citation: D. 587. XLIII
Health Topics: Controlled substances, Tobacco
Human Rights: Freedom from discrimination, Right of access to information, Right to health, Right to life
The plaintiff, a Mexican national, presented an appeal for legal protection against Mexico, arguing that modifications of the General Health Law (Ley General de Salud), which controlled and regulated tobacco advertising, constituted a violation of the constitutional right to health, as enshrined in Article 4 of the Constitution and falling within the scope of Article …Read more
Case C-830/10
Country: ColombiaYear: 2010
Court: Constitutional Court of Colombia
Citation: Corte Constitucional [C.C.][Constitutional Court], Sala Plena octubre 20, 2010, M.P.: Luis Ernesto Vargas Silva, Sentencia C-830/10 (Colom.).
Health Topics: Child and adolescent health, Controlled substances, Environmental health, Health information, Public safety, Tobacco
Human Rights: Freedom of expression, Right of access to information, Right to a clean environment, Right to bodily integrity, Right to development, Right to health, Right to life
Petioner brought action before the Constitutional Court, challenging the constitutionality of Law 1335 of 2009, which imposes a general ban on all forms of tobacco promotion, advertisement and sponsorship and in this case, its constitutionality is being questioned. It imposes bans on behaviors aimed at promoting the consumption of a particular group of goods but …Read more
Mossville Environmental Action Now v. United States
Country: United StatesYear: 2010
Court: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Citation: Report No. 43/10, Petition 242-05, March 17, 2010
Health Topics: Chronic and noncommunicable diseases, Environmental health
Human Rights: Freedom from discrimination, Right to a clean environment, Right to family life, Right to health, Right to life, Right to property
This report addresses the admissibility of a petition that alleged the United States failed to fulfill its obligations under the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man (the Declaration) and the American Convention on Human Rights (the Convention), including protection of the right to health and equality before law. Mossville, Louisiana is a …Read more
Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA) v. Philip Morris Brasil Ind. Com. Ltda.
Country: BrazilYear: 2009
Court: Tribunal Regional da 2a Regiao (Regional Federal Court of the 2nd Region)
Citation: Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA) v. Philip Morris Brasil Ind. Com. Ltda., No. 2009.02.01.006674-2, Tribunal Regional da 2a Regiao [Regional Federal Court of the 2nd Region] (2009).
Health Topics: Controlled substances, Tobacco
Human Rights: Freedom of expression, Right to health
ANVISA (National Agency for Health Surveillance), brought action seeking a review of the lower court’s decision allowing Phillip Morris to refrain from placing the health warnings on the packaging of its tobacco products as required by Resolution 54/2008. The plaintiff alleged that failure to follow the tobacco-control regulation requiring tobacco companies to place a warning …Read more
Case 20/2009
Country: UruguayYear: 2009
Court: Tribunal Apelaciones Civil Sexto Turno [Sixth Civil Appellate Court]
Citation: Office of the Public Ombudsman v. MVOTMA et al. Preventive action
Health Topics: Child and adolescent health, Environmental health
Human Rights: Right to a clean environment
The Public Ombudsman brought a preventive action against the Ministry of Housing, Zoning and the Environment and the Municipal Government of Montevideo, for lead contamination in the soil of the neighborhood of La Teja. The contamination was discovered in 2001, and a number of measures were taken by relevant public agencies and by the executive …Read more
Community of La Oroya v. Peru
Country: PeruYear: 2009
Court: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Citation: Report No. 76/09, Petition 1473-06, August 5, 2009; OEA/Ser.L/V/II., Doc. 51, corr. 1, 30 December 2009
Health Topics: Child and adolescent health, Chronic and noncommunicable diseases, Environmental health, Health care and health services, Sexual and reproductive health
Human Rights: Freedom of expression, Right to a clean environment, Right to bodily integrity, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to health, Right to life, Right to privacy
Petitioners alleged that environmental pollution from a metallurgical complex in La Oroya, Peru caused a series of violations of the rights of community members. They alleged Peru was guilty by act and omission for its failure to control the metallurgical complex; its lack of supervision of the facility’s operation; and its failure to adopt measures …Read more
Miguel Ignacio Fredes Gonzalez and Ana Andrea Tuczek Fries v. Chile
Country: ChileYear: 2009
Court: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Citation: Report No. 14/09, Petition 406-03, March 19, 2009; OEA/Ser.L/V/II., Doc. 51, corr. 1, 30 December 2009
Health Topics: Diet and nutrition, Environmental health, Health information, Public safety
Human Rights: Freedom of expression, Right of access to information, Right to a clean environment, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to participation
Miguel Ignacia Fredes Gonzalez and Ana Andrea Tuczek Fries, among others, filed an information request with the Agriculture and Livestock Service (the “SAG”), a department of the State’s Ministry of Agriculture, requesting information and documents related to transgenic crops and their location.The national director of the SAG failed to answer the request within the time …Read more
Ngobe Indigenous Communities v. Panama
Country: PanamaYear: 2009
Court: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Citation: Report No. 75/09, Petition 286-08, August 5, 2009; OEA/Ser.L/V/II., Doc. 51, corr. 1, 30 December 2009
Health Topics: Child and adolescent health, Chronic and noncommunicable diseases, Environmental health, Public safety, Violence, Water, sanitation and hygiene
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Freedom of association, Freedom of expression, Freedom of movement and residence, Right to a clean environment, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to liberty and security of person, Right to participation, Right to property, Rights to the benefits of culture
In May 2007, the State of Panama, without community consultation, granted a concession for the construction of a hydroelectric dam within the traditional lands of an indigenous community, the Ngöbe. Although the construction of the dam was still in its initial stages at the time the petition was filed, the petitioner alleged that the work …Read more