ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

International and Local Perspective

 Basic Principles on the Right to the
Environment
1. Sovereignty Over Natural Resources and the
Obligation Not to Cause Harm
States have the sovereign right to exploit their own
resources pursuant to their own environmental
policies, and the responsibility to ensure that
activities within their jurisdiction or control do not
cause damage to the environment of other States or
of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.
 Basic Principles on the Right to the
Environment
1. Sovereignty Over Natural Resources and the
Obligation Not to Cause Harm
A Latin maxim says:
sic utere tuo ut alienum non laedas
(use your own property in such a manner as not to
injure that of another)
 Basic Principles on the Right to the
Environment
2. Principle of Prevention
The Principle of Prevention aims to stop
environmental damage even before it occurs or
when it is critical and potential damage may
already be irreversible.
 Basic Principles on the Right to the
Environment
3. Precautionary Principle
Where there are threats of serious or
irreversible damage, lack of full scientific
certainty shall not be used as a reason for
postponing cost-effective measures to prevent
environmental degradation.
 Basic Principles on the Right to the
Environment
4. Sustainable Development
Sustainable Development is the process of
developing land, cities, businesses,
communities, and so forth that “meets the
needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own
needs.”
 Basic Principles on the Right to the
Environment
4. Sustainable Development
It recognizes that development requires
economic exploitation to satisfy the needs of
the growing population while at the same time
protecting the environment for future
generations.
 Basic Principles on the Right to the
Environment
5. Intergenerational Equity
Inter-generational Equity is defined as “each
generation’s responsibility to leave an
inheritance of wealth no less than what they
themselves have inherited.”
Sample Environmental Law Case in the
Philippines
OPOSA VS. FACTORAN
July 30 1993
Parties of the Case:
• Juan Antonio Oposa et. al - minors who claim to represent their
generation and the future ones to secure their rights to a
balanced and healthful ecology.
• Fulgencio Factoran Jr. – Secretary of DENR
 Sample Environmental Law Case in the
Philippines
Facts of the Case:
A case was filed by the group of Oposa against
DENR Secretary Factoran. They prayed that the
court should order the cancellation of all
existing Timber Licensing Agreements (TLA) in
the country.
 Sample Environmental Law Case in the
Philippines
Facts of the Case:
The minors alleged that they have constitutional
right to a balanced and healthful ecology and
claimed that the act of TLA holders to deforest the
remaining forests impairs the natural resources that
shall be preserved for the benefit succeeding
generations.
 Sample Environmental Law Case in the
Philippines
Ruling of the Supreme Court:
The Supreme Court ruled that the minors can, for
themselves, for others of their generation, and for
the succeeding generation, file a class suit. Their
personality to file a case in behalf of succeeding
generations is based on the concept of
intergenerational responsibility insofar as the right
to a balanced and healthful ecology is concerned.
 Sample Environmental Law Case in the
Philippines
Ruling of the Supreme Court:
Needless to say, every generation has a responsibility to
the next to preserve that rhythm and harmony for the full
enjoyment of a balanced and healthful ecology. Put a little
differently, the minor’s assertion of their right to a sound
environment constitutes at the same time, the
performance of their obligation to ensure the protection of
that right for the generations to come.
 References:
• A-Sourcebook-on-Envi-Rights-and-Legal-Remedies.pdf
• Oposa vs. Factoran, G.R. No. 101083, July 30, 1993.
Retrieved from:
https://www.lawphil.net/judjuris/juri1993/jul1993/gr_1010
83_1993.html
THANK YOU