RECENT ASSIGNMENT

Human rights – home/family/private life – Fadeyeva v Russia
Judges in European Human Rights Court
The Russian government was found to have violated Fadeyeva’s rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the right to respect for private, family life and home) by failing to prevent or adequately regulate the environmental pollution from the plant (including dust, carbon disulphide and formaldehyde), which adversely affected her quality of life and made her more vulnerable to disease.
This case established that people have a human right to live free from toxic pollution and made it easier for pollution victims to pursue justice.
Issues:
Consider the below issues as you develop your own essay question on this topic. These questions are to guide your own research and analysis - you are strongly encouraged to think about related avenues for analysis yourself, and use these to devise an insightful essay question. Please consult your tutor about your proposed essay question by week 3.
Make sure to clearly state your essay question in Assessment 1 and Assessment 3.
1. How should human rights be weighed against environmental impacts? Are they always incompatible?
2. The limitation on the viability of the ECHR in environmental cases particularly as it only applies to actual harm. (Risk is not covered and subsequently the protection is decidedly limited). Should it be broadened? Whose interests would this serve?
3. On a wider level, the interaction between legislation of different jurisdictions
We recommend you to develop your own question. However, you may use the question below in case you have problems with developing your own. If you are developing your own question, please let us know by week 2.
How do sustainability principles assist the community in protecting human rights from environmental harm?