Role of Judiciary in Promoting Environment in South Asian Region: A Critical Assessment

Abstract

The right to clean and healthy environment is a universally recognized right, yet, at the international level, it lacks a concrete framework both in terms of substantive matters as well as enforcement. This article is a descriptive analysis of the judicial role in the context of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal in protecting and ensuring the right to a clean and healthy environment. In India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal, the cases relating to environmental degradations are brought before the Court in the form of Public Interest Litigation. The judiciaries of SAARC countries have been playing a very significant role in recognizing the right to a clean and healthy environment and as 'sine quo non' to ensure other rights like the right to life and the right to health. With the recognition of various principles such as sustainable development, the precautionary principle, the polluter pays principle and many more, SAARC judiciaries have constantly been broadening the scope of environmental protection and sustainable development in their respective countries.