ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the three regional human rights bodies and the jurisprudence generated by them on environmental rights. The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms was adopted in 1950 under the auspices of the Council of Europe. Since 1990, the European Court of Human Rights has developed a significant body of jurisprudence on environmental rights. The Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights were established under the American Convention on Human Rights, concluded in San Jose in 1969 and adopted within the Organization of American States. Similar to the European system at the time when it was originally adopted, the Inter-American system adopts a two-tier approach: only the Commission can refer petitions to the Court, and individuals have no standing before the Court. Closely resembling the Inuit petition, the Arctic Athabaskan Peoples’ petition to the Inter-American Commission argues that black carbon pollution from Canada is harming the Arctic environment and ecosystems of Arctic region.
