The Right to Respect for Private and Family Life as a Means of Environmental Protection

Abstract

Environmental degradation has a significant impact on a number of fundamental human rights; it alters the way individuals lead their lives, threatens their well-being and can prevent them, among other things, from peacefully enjoying their private and family life. Just like the environmental protection is crucial for the enjoyment of human rights, the effective exercise of human rights is essential for safeguarding the environment. Although this reciprocal relationship has long been widely acknowledged, the human right to a clean and healthy environment still awaits international and European human rights law recognition in the form of a binding document. Since the right to respect for private and family life is one of the fundamental human rights most affected by harmful effects of environmental pollution, it is often used as a means of addressing environmental issues. Besides reflecting on the European Union’s approach to environmental protection, this paper will focus on the examining of the specifics and the extent of the protection afforded to the environment through the right to private and family life as guaranteed by Article 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and how this process in turn contributes to the development of the ‘green’ dimension of the right to private and family life. Naturally, the aim of the paper is also to consider the existing possibilities for advancing the protection of the human right to a healthy environment by means of the right to private and family life and vice versa.