Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface and acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction: dimensions of justice in environmental law
- Part I The notion of justice in environmental law
- Part II Public participation and access to the judiciary
- 6 Participatory rights in natural resource management: the role of communities in South Asia
- 7 Public participation and the challenges of environmental justice in China
- 8 Environmental justice through courts in countries in economic transition
- 9 Environmental justice through environmental courts? Lessons learned from the Swedish experience
- 10 Environmental justice in the European Court of Justice
- 11 Environmental justice through international complaint procedures? Comparing the Aarhus Convention and the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation
- Part III State sovereignty and state borders
- Part IV North–South concerns in global contexts
- Part V Access to natural resources
- Part VI Corporate activities and trade
- Index
10 - Environmental justice in the European Court of Justice
from Part II - Public participation and access to the judiciary
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 June 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface and acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction: dimensions of justice in environmental law
- Part I The notion of justice in environmental law
- Part II Public participation and access to the judiciary
- 6 Participatory rights in natural resource management: the role of communities in South Asia
- 7 Public participation and the challenges of environmental justice in China
- 8 Environmental justice through courts in countries in economic transition
- 9 Environmental justice through environmental courts? Lessons learned from the Swedish experience
- 10 Environmental justice in the European Court of Justice
- 11 Environmental justice through international complaint procedures? Comparing the Aarhus Convention and the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation
- Part III State sovereignty and state borders
- Part IV North–South concerns in global contexts
- Part V Access to natural resources
- Part VI Corporate activities and trade
- Index
Summary
The discussion on environmental justice in the United States
The notion of environmental justice, as far as can be seen, has never been used in European Community (EC) environmental legislation or, indeed, by the European judiciary, i.e. the European Court of Justice (ECJ) or the Court of First Instance (CFI). In trying to explain the reason for this, it is necessary to have a look at the origin of this notion. It is obvious that it does not stem from (continental) European law, but that it was developed in the United States, thus in the context of Anglo-Saxon law. Moreover, the notion seems to stem from social science rather than law.
The concept of environmental justice first appeared at the US federal level in the Presidential Executive Order 12898 of 1994. This Order, entitled ‘Federal actions to address environmental justice in minority populations and low income populations’, asked the federal administration to address the impact of environmental measures on minority populations and low-income groups. It was a reaction to the fact that studies, reports and publications since the early 1970s had linked the siting of waste facilities with race. They had also shown that poor people and people of colour in the United States suffered disproportionately from environmental risks or pollution, and that they had greater difficulties in accessing information, in participating in decision-making and in accessing courts in environmental matters. Subsequently, public policy addressed these issues.
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- Environmental Law and Justice in Context , pp. 195 - 210Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009
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