Inter‐American Court of Human Rights Advisory Opinion OC‐23/17: Jurisdictional, procedural and substantive implications of human rights duties in the context of environmental protection
| Author | Walter Arevalo‐Ramirez,Ricardo Abello‐Galvis |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/reel.12290 |
| Published date | 01 July 2019 |
| Date | 01 July 2019 |
RECIEL. 2019;28:217–222.
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217
wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/reel
1 | INTRODUCTION
On 15 November 2017, the Inter‐America n Court of Human Right s
(IACtHR) issued an a dvisory opi nion concerning St ate obligations
on the environme nt, in the context of the right s to life and to per‐
sonal integrit y, as recognized by the Ame rican Conventi on on
Human Rights,1 as well as of rights reco gnized in the Organization
of American St ates (OAS) system and regio nal instruments reg ard‐
ing marine and env ironmental protection. 2 The IACtHR’s opinion,
issued in respon se to a request by Colombi a,3 makes groundbreak‐
ing findings on s everal issues concerning th e jurisdictional, proc e‐
dural and subs tantive implic ations of States’ hu man rights duti es
in the context of th e protection of the environm ent and of human
rights.
2 | THE REQUEST
2.1 | Litigatio n strategy: Two treaties, new links
Colombia’s reques t to the IACtHR brought together tr eaties concern‐
ing the environm ent and human rights, wit h a view to seeking preven‐
tive measures to p rotect the sensitive ec osystem of the Carib bean Sea
against the specific threat of large‐scale infrastructure projects.4 The
link between t he environment and human right s was at the very core
of the question s asked to the Court. Colomb ia sought clarification on
jurisdictio nal (i.e. on the reach of State ju risdiction over enviro nmental
damage occurri ng outside its territo ry), procedural (defin ing the scope
of obligations con cerning matter s such as environm ental impact a s‐
sessment) and su bstantive (linking exi sting rights and recogn izing new
ones) question s at the intersecti on between environ mental and human
rights law oblig ations. Altho ugh the Court h ad linked the right to l ife
with the environ ment in cases concer ning indigenous com munities and
their living conditions,5 the Court ha d so far kept these t wo issues
separate,6 a positio n that shifted with the pr esent opinion.
1 AmericanC onventiononHu manRights(a dopted22Novem ber1969,enteredintofor ce
18 July 1978) 21 ILM 58.
2 Namely,theCon ventionforth eProtectiona ndDevelopm entoftheMarin e
Environmen t of the Wider Car ibbean Region (a dopted 24 March 1983 , entered into forc e
11 October 1986) 150 6 UNTS 25974.
3 RepublicofCo lombia,‘Di plomaticNot eS‐DVAM‐16‐024746ofMarch14,2016 :
Request for a n Advisory Op inion, concer ning the interp retation of Ar ticle 1(1), 2, 4 and 5
of the American Convention on Human Rights’ <http://www.corte idh.or.cr/solic itudo c/
solic itu d_14_03_16 _ing.pd f>.
4 AJaimurzin aandRSánchez ,‘Gobernan zadelaInfrae structu raparaelDes arrollo
Sostenibl e en América La tina y el Caribe : Una Apuesta I nicial’ (2017) 35 4 Boletín FAL 2.
5 MBeloffandLC lérico,‘Der echoaCondic ionesdeExis tenciaDign aySituaciónde
Vulnerabil idadenlaJuris prudenciad elaCorteInte ramerica na’(2016)14Estudio s
Constitucionales 139.
6 Yakye Axa Indigenous Community v Paraguay (Judgment) Inter‐American Court of Human
Rights Ser ies C No 125 (17 June 200 5) para 137; Caso Comunidad Indígena Sawhoyamaxa
v Paraguay (Mer its and Repara tions) Inter‐Amer ican Court of Hu man Rights Ser ies C No
146 (29 March 20 06) para 118.
DOI: 10.1111/ree l.122 90
CASE N OTE
Inter‐American Court of Human Rights Advisory Opinion
OC‐23/17: Jurisdictional, procedural and substantive
implications of human rights duties in the context of
environmental protection
Ricardo Abello‐Galvis | Walter Arevalo‐Ramirez
©2019JohnWiley&SonsLtd,9600GarsingtonRoad,OxfordOX42DQ,UKand350MainStreet,Malden,MA02148,USA.
Correspondence
Emails: ricardo.abello@urosario.edu.co;
walter.arevalo@urosario.edu.co
This case note analys es the jurisdictio nal, procedural an d substantive impli cations
of human rights dutie s in the context of environm ental protectio n as devised by
the Inter‐American Cour t of Human Rights in it s Advisory Opin ion OC‐23/17 of 15
November 2017 concerning State ob ligations on the environ ment, in the context of
the rights to life and to p ersonal integrity.
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