CLIMA Lunch Seminar: Prevention and Precautionary Principles in Environmental Cases
Title Prevention and Precautionary Principles in Environmental Cases before International Human Rights Adjudicators
About the topic My research analyses the role that the prevention and precautionary principles in international environmental law can play in the adjudication of rights-based environmental cases by international human rights adjudicators (specifically, the European Court of Human Rights, Inter-American Court and Commission of Human Rights and African Court and Commission of Human and Peoples' Rights). Starting from requests for indication of provisional measures, to issues of admissibility, evidentiary rules, interpretation of treaty provisions and finally remedies, my thesis will assess whether environmental principles can inform adjudication in each phase of rights-based litigation. These principles have emerged as norms which are applicable in different contexts, characterized by the presence of risks of environmental harm and harm to human health. 'Risk' acts as a nodal concept enabling (and possibly, requiring) human rights adjudicators to refer to these principles in adjudicating environmental cases. The aim of the thesis is to provide a comprehensive account on the topic, since scholarship touching on this topic is typically either too simplistic or extremely narrow in scope.
About the speaker Pranav Ganesan is a PhD candidate at the University of Zurich, and a researcher at the Climate Rights and Remedies Project. His areas of interest are public international law, environmental law, and human rights.
