Petitioner Berishvili requested reimbursement from defendants Rustavi City Hall and LLC “Cultural and Recreational Park” for medical expenses incurred by her son after he was injured in a city park. Petitioner and her son went to the Cultural Recreation Park in Rustavi City. While at the park, a poisonous snake bit her son who required …Read more

The applicant, a Spanish national, complained of noise disturbances at night bars, pubs and discotheques near her home in Valencia. An expert report confirmed that the noise levels were unacceptably high. The City Council designated her area an “acoustically saturated zone”, thereby imposing a ban on new noisy activities. Despite the ban, the City Council …Read more

Petitioners challenged the constitutionality of Article 9 of Costa Rica’s tobacco regulation act, which provided for a partial ban on cigar and cigarette advertisement. In their submission, petitioners claimed the constitutional standard to safeguard the right to health, to life and to a clean environment could not be appropriately fulfilled by such a partial ban, …Read more

First and second applicants, both Greek nationals, were mother and son, respectively. They owned real property that included a swamp by the coast in Ayios Yiannis. During their ownership, the prefect of Cyclades redrew the boundaries of Ayios Yiannis on the basis of which the town-planning authority of Syros issued building permits for the area …Read more

Residents of Ilo, Peru and representatives of deceased Ilo residents brought personal injury claims under the Alien Tort Claims Act (“ATCA”) against Southern Peru Copper Corporation (“SPCC”). SPCC was majority-owned by Asarco, a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Peru. Asarco was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Grupo Mexico, S.A. de C.V., a …Read more

A petition was filed by the Smoke Affected Residents’ Forum seeking appropriate directions from the Court for measures to control and reduce auto emissions from vehicles plying in Mumbai. These were with respect to the consumption of unleaded petrol, reduction of sulphur content in diesel oil, issuance of ‘Pollution Under Control’ certificates and ensuring that …Read more

Petitioners filed a writ petition arguing that the environment of Dhaka City and the health of its inhabitants were under threat from the “emissions of hazardous smokes and noises in the air from faulty and unfit motor vehicles lacking road worthiness as required by law.” An investigation conducted by the petitioner and the Executive Committee …Read more

The Petitioner was to construct a brick kiln close to the Respondent’s house. The Respondent complained that the smoke emitted by the brick kiln would pose a threat to the health of those in the neighborhood. The Respondent claimed that, in addition being harmful to the inhabitants of his house, the smoke would also cause …Read more

Tobacco related diseases caused an estimated eight hundred thousand deaths in India per year, with treatment of tobacco caused diseases resulting in a loss of Rs. 13,500 Crores annually. The World Health Organisation estimated that up to seven million deaths, worldwide, per year were attributable to tobacco related disease, of which sixty million deaths occurred …Read more

Brindavan Colony was draining untreated sewage into the municipal underground pipeline and the Papireddy tank, which tank supplied water to the residents of Kavali. The Kavali municipality had failed to provide a proper drainage system, resulting in polluted water and the outbreak of mosquito-born epidemics. There was a nearby water supply scheme being built which, …Read more

The applicant, a public interest organisation, brought an application in the public interest seeking a declaration that unregulated smoking in public areas is a violation of the constitutional rights of non-smokers to life and to a clean and healthy environment. Article 50(2) of Uganda’s Constitution provides that “[a]ny person or organization may bring an action …Read more

Applicant Joseph Eryau made a motion to be heard in opposition to Application No. 39/2001. Of the five declarations proposed in the motion of Application No. 39/2001, all but two were struck down (including those orders which criminalized smoking in public places). The remaining two proposed that “smoking in a public place constitutes a violation …Read more

The Petitioner was the Secretary of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) until his death. He was concerned about the increase in industrial pollution in the country and the Government’s lack of combative measures to tackle the issue. The Department of Environment, Pollution Control had carried out a survey identifying 903 industries that caused ecological imbalances …Read more

The applicant alleged that the military government of Nigeria (Government), in its efforts to produce oil through the State-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), contaminated the environment of the Ogoni People and led to environmental degradation and health problems among that community. More specifically, the applicant claimed that the NNPC, acting within a consortium with …Read more

Eight applicants, all British citizens, lived on properties in the areas surrounding Heathrow Airport. They complained that United Kingdom’s “noise quota” policy introduced in 1993 allowing for increased flights and levels of noise at night and especially in the early morning interfered with their rights pursuant to Article 8 (right to respect for his or …Read more

The petitioner, Mr. T Ramakrishna Rao, was a member of the A.P. High Court Bar. He wrote a letter dated 13-12-1998 to the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The basis of the letter was a news article titled “A Victim of Urbanisation” published in an english daily, The Indian Express on 28-11-1998. The article highlighted the …Read more

The above judgment combined two writ petitions that both dealt with the effect of tobacco advertisements on public health. The Petitioner in Writ Petition No. 1825 of 1999 was Prof. Nurul Islam, President of ADHUNIK (Aamra Dhumpan Nibaron Kori). Section 3 of the Tamakjato Shamogri Biponon Niontroner Jonno Pronito Ain, 1988 provided that all tobacco …Read more

This case was brought to the Court by members of the Ogiek community who sought a declaration that their forcible eviction from the Tinet Forest by the Kenyan government was unconstitutional. The applicants claimed that the eviction was in contravention of their rights to protection of the law, their right to life, their right to …Read more

The respondents entered into a draft agreement with a leading US mining company for the exploration of phosphate deposits in Eppawela, an agriculturally developed area of great historical importance and archaeological value. The proposed area of exploration was described as land ‘initially covering 56 square kilometers’. The petitioners, residents of Eppawela, started proceedings in the …Read more

Respondent industry sought to establish a new factory in the State of Andhra Pradesh to produce vegetable oils. The industry purchased land in Peddashpur village, within 10KM of two reservoirs that provided drinking water for 5 million people. In 1988, the Ministry of Forests and Environment established a “red” list of hazardous industries, including industry …Read more

Residents of Manfredonia brought an action against the Italian government for failing to provide them with information about the health risks posed by a nearby chemical factory. The residents of Manfredonia lived approximately one kilometer away from the Enichem chemical factory. The factory, which produced fertilizers and caprolactam, was classified as “high risk,” because it …Read more

McGinley (M) and Egan (E) were servicemen who had been present on a Pacific island in 1958 when atmospheric tests of nuclear weapons had been carried out (five in M’s case and one in that of E). During the tests service personnel had been ordered to line-up in the open and to face away from …Read more

Applicant’s father served as a catering assistant in the British Royal Air Force and had been present at Christmas Island during four nuclear tests. Applicant was diagnosed with leukemia at an early age. Her records of admission to hospital included, under the heading “Summary of Possible Causative Factors” that her father was exposed to radiation. …Read more

Amongst the several chemicals used industrially, some insecticides, colour additives and food additives (the chemicals) were approved for use in India even though they were banned in “advanced countries” as they carried carcinogenic properties. These facts were mentioned in a letter sent by Dr. Ashok (the Petitioner) to the Chief Justice of India. The Court …Read more

Petition stated that no appropriate steps had been taken by the Municipal Board to take custody of the stray dogs roaming in the public roads, despite the Municipal Board’s responsibility to keep the public spaces clean and abate public nuisances. These stray dogs had created a hindrance in public transport and had proved dangerous to …Read more

The public defender brought a guarantee of protection of individual constitutional rights (amparo protection) to protect the health of children in the indigenous community of Paynemil whose drinking water supply had been contaminated with lead and mercury by an oil company’s operations. The State was alleged to have arbitrarily failed to protect the right to …Read more

Balmer-Schafroth (B) and nine other applicants lived in villages situated in a containment zone within a radius of four to five kilometers from a nuclear power station in operation since 1971. In March 1991 they had requested the federal council to refuse an indefinite extension of the operating license being sought for the station and …Read more

The Petitioner, Ameer Bano, owned a house at Multan Road, Bahawalpur. She brought a claim before High Court of Lahore alleging that her right to life and freedom from disease under article 9 of the Constitution of Pakistan was violated by the breakdown of the sewerage system. The breakdown had caused dirty water to enter …Read more

The applicant company’s business includes the development of real property and owned 6 blocks of flats nearby the port of Rotterdam. It was reported that a smell of mineral oil had been noticed in a garden during digging. In a report it was found that pollution was caused by heavy metals and the local residents …Read more

The Secretary-General of the United Nations requested an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the following question: “Is the threat or use of nuclear weapons in any circumstances permitted under international law?”. The Court determined that it had the jurisdiction and competence to reply to the UN request according to Article 96, …Read more