About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

53 Wake Forest L. Rev. 667 (2018)
Environmental Constitutionalism in Defense of Nature

handle is hein.journals/wflr53 and id is 699 raw text is: ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTITUTIONALISM IN DEFENSE OF NATURE Erin Daly Most of the world's population live in countries whose constitutions protect environmental rights in one way or another and, increasingly, courts throughout the globe are implementing these provisions to advance both environmental and human rights. This Article examines some of the most innovative ways constitutional courts have sought to vindicate these rights to better protect nature and natural resources. It describes how the limitations on human rights law impacts the protection of natural resources and suggests that constitutional law can help to fill some of these gaps, creating new opportunities for vindication of environmental and human rights. The Article then explores two innovations in constitutional adjudication-primarily from South America and the Indian sub-continent-that have further expanded opportunities for protection of the environment and of natural resources, first, by expanding the range of people who can bring claims based on environmental human rights, and second, by extending juridical personhood to nature itself. As environmental constitutionalism has evolved and become interwoven into the fabric of judicial decision-making, courts have adapted their constitutional doctrines to advance environmentally protective ends. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODU CTION ......................................................................... 668 II. THE GAPS LEFT BY INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS AND ENVIRONM ENTAL LAW ............................................................. 668 III. ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTITUTIONALISM FILLS THE GAPS ....... 671 IV. STANDING: EXPANDING THE RIGHTS OF PEOPLE TO A H EALTHY ENVIRONM ENT ......................................................... 678 * Professor of Law, Widener University Delaware Law School; Co-Founder of the Dignity Rights Project and Director of the Global Network for Human Rights and the Environment. My special thanks to John Knox, whose influence on the development of this field has been immeasurable, and to Jimmy May for ever-helpful comments and suggestions on a previous version of this Article.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most