EU human rights law and environmental protection: the beginning of a beautiful friendship?

Towards Workers’ Environmental Rights: An Analysis of EU Labour and Environmental Law

“…The Charter contains many provisions on workers' rights as well, and can thus act as an interpretive aid also where the Court is considering some of the environmental law norms we have WP 2024.02 Kalina Arabadjieva and Paolo Tomassetti discussed in this paper. It is not clear exactly what the legal nature of Article 37 is, and how this provision is to be applied, particularly because it is in the part of the Charter containing 'principles' rather than 'rights' (Bogojević 2017;Scotford 2018). Still, commentators have argued that this provision can play a role in legal reasoning by shaping interpretive practice and informing the development of EU legal doctrine (Bogojević 2017;Scotford 2018).…”

“…It is not clear exactly what the legal nature of Article 37 is, and how this provision is to be applied, particularly because it is in the part of the Charter containing 'principles' rather than 'rights' (Bogojević 2017;Scotford 2018). Still, commentators have argued that this provision can play a role in legal reasoning by shaping interpretive practice and informing the development of EU legal doctrine (Bogojević 2017;Scotford 2018). It has been used by the CJEU, albeit rarely, to validate the protection of the environment coupled with other Charter rights (Bogojević 2017).…”

“…Still, commentators have argued that this provision can play a role in legal reasoning by shaping interpretive practice and informing the development of EU legal doctrine (Bogojević 2017;Scotford 2018). It has been used by the CJEU, albeit rarely, to validate the protection of the environment coupled with other Charter rights (Bogojević 2017).…”

General Principles of EU Law: Systemic Implications of "Twin" TFEU Article 11 and EUCFR Article 37

“…80 Along these lines, in Canadian Oil Company Sweden AB, Anders Rantén v. Riksåklagaren the CJEU held that the 'objective' of ensuring 'a high level of protection of human health and the environment' is 'capable of justifying any hindrance to the free movement of goods'. 81 Contrary to the ECJ, the ECtHR has never recognised an independent (thirdgeneration) principle, or right, to environmental protection. By contrast, the Court has afforded environmental protection through specific first-and secondgeneration fundamental rights, such as the right to health and private and family life, 82 which has been defined as a 'minimum level of environmental protection'.…”

Commentary to Article 37 – Environmental Protection of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights

“…37.53 From a more pragmatic perspective, judicial references to Article 37 of the Charter have been thus far limited in both quantitative and qualitative terms, referring to it as justification for the breach of other Charter rights, or as validation for environmental protection coupled with other Charter rights 181 or Treaty provisions (notably, Article 3(3) TEU and 191 TFEU). 182 Only in an isolated case has Article 37 been used to 'add weight to the environmental protection imperative when balanced against other (individual) human rights'.…”