Book contents
- Fifty Years of International Environmental Law
- Fifty Years of International Environmental Law
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Introduction: Fifty Years of Shaping International Environmental Law
- Part I Concepts, Structures, and Institutions
- Part II Human Rights, Participatory Rights, and the Rule of Law
- 4 Litigating Human Rights and the Environment in International Tribunals 1972–2022: How Far Have We Progressed?
- 5 Environmental Rule of Law: From Stockholm 1972 to 2022 and Beyond
- 6 The Development of Environmental Access Rights and Protection of Environmental Defenders
- Part III Consumption, Production, Chemicals, and Waste
- Part IV The Atmosphere
- Part V Waters
- Part VI Nature and Biodiversity
- Annex A Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment
- Annex B Stockholm+50: A Healthy Planet for the Prosperity of All – Our Responsibility, Our Opportunity, Summary Points of Leadership Dialogues and Outcome
- Index
4 - Litigating Human Rights and the Environment in International Tribunals 1972–2022: How Far Have We Progressed?
from Part II - Human Rights, Participatory Rights, and the Rule of Law
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 May 2026
Book contents
- Fifty Years of International Environmental Law
- Fifty Years of International Environmental Law
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Introduction: Fifty Years of Shaping International Environmental Law
- Part I Concepts, Structures, and Institutions
- Part II Human Rights, Participatory Rights, and the Rule of Law
- 4 Litigating Human Rights and the Environment in International Tribunals 1972–2022: How Far Have We Progressed?
- 5 Environmental Rule of Law: From Stockholm 1972 to 2022 and Beyond
- 6 The Development of Environmental Access Rights and Protection of Environmental Defenders
- Part III Consumption, Production, Chemicals, and Waste
- Part IV The Atmosphere
- Part V Waters
- Part VI Nature and Biodiversity
- Annex A Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment
- Annex B Stockholm+50: A Healthy Planet for the Prosperity of All – Our Responsibility, Our Opportunity, Summary Points of Leadership Dialogues and Outcome
- Index
Summary
Protecting human rights and safeguarding the environment, along with maintaining peace and security, are fundamental values of modern international society. The first two topics emerged as matters of international concern several decades apart, and the earlier development of human rights law encouraged international lawyers and activists as early as the 1972 Stockholm Conference to explore and attempt to understand the interrelationship between human rights and environmental protection. As this understanding has grown, the two fields have increasingly interacted. Since the Stockholm Conference, constitutional provisions and related litigation on environmental rights have spread around the globe. At the same time, differences in goals and priorities have demonstrated the obstacles to merging them or integrating either subject entirely into the framework of the other. The current focus on climate change has been accompanied by new efforts to enforce environmental goals that impact the enjoyment of human rights.
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- Fifty Years of International Environmental LawDevelopments since the 1972 Stockholm Conference, pp. 131 - 155Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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