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
Kichwa Peoples of the Sarayaku Community v. Ecuador
Country: EcuadorYear: 2012
Court: Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Citation: Case No. 12.465; Series C No. 245, June 27, 2012
Health Topics: Diet and nutrition, Environmental health, Health care and health services, Medicines, Violence
Human Rights: Freedom of expression, Freedom of movement and residence, Right to bodily integrity, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to liberty and security of person, Right to life, Right to participation, Right to property
This case concerned the Kichwa nation of the Ecuadorian Amazon, which encompassed two Peoples who shared the same linguistic and cultural tradition. The State of Ecuador had granted a private oil company a permit to carry out oil exploration and exploitation of activities in the ancestral territory of the Kichwa nation. The State did not …Read more
Chu Yee Wah v. Director Of Environmental Protection
Country:Year: 2011
Court: The High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Court of Appeal
Citation: [2011] HKCA 217; [2011] 5 HKLRD 469; [2012] 1 HKC 35; CACV 84/2011
Health Topics: Environmental health
Human Rights: Right to a clean environment
This case addressed the issue of whether Hong Kong’s Director of Environmental Protection (the ͞Director) had the authority to approve an environmental impact assessment (the ͞EIA) of certain proposed Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge projects (the ͞HKZMB Projects) if the EIA did not contain a quantitative stand-alone analysis of the projected environmental impact of the HKZMB Projects. …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
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
Mendoza, Beatriz Silvia et al. v. Estado Nacional et al.
Country: ArgentinaYear: 2008
Court: Supreme Court of Justice [Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación Argentina]
Citation: [2008] File M. 1569. XL
Health Topics: Chronic and noncommunicable diseases, Environmental health, Health information, Health systems and financing, Water, sanitation and hygiene
Human Rights: Right to a clean environment, Right to water and sanitation
Residents of the Matanza-Riachulo river basin brought a class action against the National State, the Province of Buenos Aires, and the city of Buenos Aires, as well as a number of businesses, for injuries resulting from pollution of the area. A lengthy information collecting process began in 2006. The Supreme Court of Argentina found that …Read more
Ledyayeva, Dobrokhotova, Zolotareva and Romashina v. Russia
Country: RussiaYear: 2007
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: Application Nos. 53157/99, 53247/99, 53695/00 and 56850/00
Health Topics: Chronic and noncommunicable diseases, Environmental health, Public safety
Human Rights: Right to a clean environment, Right to family life, Right to housing
The four applicants alleged that pollution levels near their homes violated their right to respect for their private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (“Convention”). All the applicants lived within a “sanitary security zone” around a local steel plant and were exposed to concentrations of dangerous substances above …Read more
Rabia Bhuiyan MP v. Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, et al.
Country: BangladeshYear: 2007
Court: Supreme Court - High Court Division
Citation: 59 DLR (AD) (2007)
Health Topics: Chronic and noncommunicable diseases, Environmental health, Health systems and financing, Water, sanitation and hygiene
Human Rights: Right to a clean environment, Right to health, Right to life
The Appellant, a former Member of Parliament, filed a writ petition in the High Court of Bangladesh against the Government and other public authorities for their failure to comply with the Environment Conservation Act 1995 and the Environment Conservation Rules 1997. The petition alleged that there was widespread arsenic contamination in tube wells across the …Read more
Giacomelli v. Italy
Country: ItalyYear: 2006
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: App. No. 59909/00, 45 Eur. H.R. Rep 38 (2006).
Health Topics: Environmental health, Water, sanitation and hygiene
Human Rights: Right to a clean environment, Right to due process/fair trial, Right to health, Right to privacy
The applicant, an Italian national, claimed the government violated Article 8 (respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights when its authorities failed to implement a court order to suspend a waste treatment plant because of its permanent effects on her health and home. The applicant was living in a …Read more