Justiciability of the collective right to a healthy environment: between the protection of the environment and international human rights law

This research examines the justiciability of a collective right to a healthy environment, focusing on its legal foundations and implications. Using doctrinal legal research, it explores both anthropocentric and ecocentric approaches. While international human rights law follows an anthropocentric perspective, ecocentric elements provide complementary insights. Intergenerational equity serves as the core philosophy, reinforcing the collective nature of environmental rights and offering new perspectives on justiciability, particularly in climate litigation. Environmental degradation and climate change are analysed as interdependent issues requiring a comprehensive legal response.The first part establishes the collective approach, particularly through intergenerational equity, and examines relevant legal instruments to determine recognition and scope. The right to a healthy environment is framed as one that mandates preservation and improvement while incorporating procedural rights, particularly access to justice. The second part explores justiciability at international and national levels. It begins with an analysis of access to justice as a prerequisite, focusing on available remedies and their effectiveness. The research then examines jurisprudence from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the African Commission on Human Rights, and the European Court of Human Rights. Cases from UN treaty bodies are also analysed, with attention to discrimination and vulnerability factors. National climate litigation is further explored, highlighting its role in integrating international environmental and human rights law in collective claims. The study concludes by assessing whether a collective right to a healthy environment is legally established, distinguishing between existing legal norms (ius conditum) and those requiring further development (ius condendum). Ultimately, it evaluates whether the collective approach provides an effective means of environmental protection.