7 - High Priority

Summary

The chapter investigates the claim of the environmental minimum that environmental interests must be balanced with competing considerations, and that neither can be presumed to have priority in the abstract. This becomes particularly relevant when considering cases where states justify infringements of human rights by invoking their duty to prevent environmental harms. Not every conceivable measure in furtherance of environmental protection is porportionate in light of its impact on other rights. The question specifically for the ECHR case law is whether justificaitons for environmental regulations challenged by applicants are balanced with and can be outweighed by competing interests. In principle, the ECtHR accepts that environmental regulations can give rise to infringements of Convention rights and acknowledges that regulations must be proportional to the established threat of environmental harm. The chapter then turns to discusses an enduring area of concern, namely the acceptance of vague economic justifications for environmental harm and the unprincipled application of the margin of appreciation doctrine.