The approach of the European court of human rights to environmental protection

The thesis aims to analyse the protection of environmental interests through the cases decided by the European Convention of Human Rights. The Convention does not include a right to a healthy environment. However, in recent years the European Court of Human Rights has given a number of innovative judgments acknowledging applicants' causes of action in environmental cases. The new jurisprudence poses crucial questions on the interpretation of the Convention and admissibility requirements to bring a case to the Court. The paper will seek to offer an overview of these developments. The first chapter gives a general outline on the conceptual and legal linkage between human rights and environmental protection, giving an account of the Council of Europe’s position on the matter. The analysis then proceeds to a detailed review of the Court’s jurisprudence in connection with each of the provisions that have found application in environmental cases, namely the right to respect for one's home, private and family life; the right to life; the right to a fair trial and the right to a remedy. The conclusions summarize the features of the Court's jurisprudence, commenting on its role in the protection of environmental interests within the Member States of the Council of Europ

A Glimpse into the Future of the Climate Regime:Lessons from the REDD+ Architecture

In 2015, parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) formally closed negotiations on measures to maintain and enhance the carbon storage capacity of forests in developing countries, commonly referred to as ‘REDD’. This unusual and largely symbolic gesture seemingly signals that UNFCCC parties consider the international set of rules on REDD a ‘job done’, at least for the time being. This article reflects on the outcome of these negotiations and on the related law-making process, arguing that REDD may be regarded as the first ripe fruit in the pledge-and-review architecture recently enshrined in the Paris Agreement. REDD is therefore used in this article as a lens to understand how the new architecture for climate change governance may work, as well as challenges facing its implementation. In doing so, the article aims to shine a light on the path ahead for the Paris Agreement, making predictions on challenges likely to emerge with its implementation, the solutions that may be adopted, as well as areas where more international rules may be needed