CHAPTER FIVE

LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF
ENVIRONMENTAL LITIGATION
 CONTENTS
 Legal Personality and Standing
 Liberalization of Standing
 Citizen Standing
 Public Interest Litigation
 Judicial Activism and Environmental Protection
 Legal Personality and Standing
 Legal personality in relation to environmental proceeding
depends on whether it focuses on human beings,
anthropocentrism, or on other entities, ecocentrism.
 Anthropocentric theory considers environment as valuable
only to the extent to which it can be used and exploited by
human beings. i.e. where and when their interest is at stake.
 Eco-centric theory considers the well-being of all life forms
on earth have value in themselves. i.e. conferring of legal
personality to each distinct part of the environment.
 It is good to struck the balance between the interests of
human beings on the one hand, and that of the environment
on the other.
 Legal Personality and Standing
 we need to impose certain limitations on the development and
use of technology as well as on the interest and capacity of
consumption of the present day generation.
 To protect the interest of future generations, a number of
international instruments recognize international equity.
 Many environmental problems require that costs be incurred
today to prevent risk of harm occurring in the future or to
preserve environmental amenities for future enjoyment.
 Intergenerational equity is recognized under the Ethiopian
legal system.
 Liberalization of Standing
 To further protect the environment it has been proposed to
grant individuals a personal or subjective right to a clean and
healthy environment.
 It will provide access to justice for citizens in cases where
damage is caused to the environment in general.
 Personal action would certainly help in implementing and
enforcing environmental laws and could be vital in cases
where the government is unwilling to claim damages for
injury to the environment.
 Citizen Standing
 It refers to the case where a concerned citizen or voluntary
organization sues, not as a representative of others but in his or
her own right as a member of the citizenry to whom a public
duty is owned.
 one of the forces that impelled the liberalization of standing
stemmed from the need to check the abuse of environmental
authorities in a modern welfare state.
 Public Interest Litigation
 Public interest litigation is essentially a co-operative and
collaborative effort on the part of petitioner, the state [public
authority] and the court to secure observance of the
constitution or legal rights conferred upon the vulnerable
section of the community.
 It is a challenge and opportunity for the government and its
officers who must not only welcome but must be interested in
ensuring basic human rights of the disadvantaged.
 public interest litigation can become a sharper instrument if
there is proper institutional frame -work with regular funding
assured.
 Judicial Activism and Environmental
Protection
 Protection of constitutional rights and environmental rights demand judicial activism.
 In jurisdictions such as Indian judiciary, courts are anxious and proactive for the better
protection of environmental rights through various case demonstrations.
 In the environmental arena for a very strong reason it calls the participation of the
legislative, executive and judiciary, judicial activism is quite possible and feasible.
 The introduction of proclamation 454/2005, which is a proclamation to re-mend the
Federal Courts Proclamation 25/96, also has the potential to bring judicial activism in
Ethiopia.
 To this end, the provision of Article 2(4) of the same proclamation makes clear that,
any interpretation of the law made by the federal supreme court in its cassation
jurisdiction shall be made binding on federal as well as regional councils at all levels
keeping intact the instances of a different legal interpretation on the same legal point
and article at some other time in the future.