The Protection of the Right to Environment Through Individual Application in Turkish Law

Abstract

The right to environment, which aims to protect and improve the environment, was first mentioned in the Declaration issued after the United Nations Conference in Stockholm in 1972 by stipulating that a person has the right to live in a decent environment which allows him to live a dignified and good life. The right to environment, which is also referred to as the third generation rights, also called solidarity rights, is regulated under the heading of economic and social rights in the Article 56 of the Turkish Constitution. The amendment to the Turkish Constitution in 2010 made it possible for everyone to apply to the Constitutional Court by individual application on the grounds that one of the fundamental rights and freedoms within the scope of the European Convention on Human Rights which are guaranteed by the Constitution has been violated by public authorities. Although the right to the environment is not explicitly regulated in the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights guarantees the protection of the environment by assessing the right to the environment with other rights regulated by the Convention. The Constitutional Court examines the applications for the protection of the right to environment by evaluating it as a part of the right to life and the right to protect and improve someone's corporeal and spiritual existence regulated in Article 17 of the Constitution.