Access to Justice in Environmental Matters

Sustainable development, a notion of obligation to future generation which was first used in Brundtland Commission in 1987 which states that development which is taking place to meet the demands of present generation without compromising or affecting the needs of future generations. This very process of sustainable development is one of the most important concerns to globalized and developing nations like India which is still confronted with many social, economic and especially environmental challenges such as Global Warming, Health issue, Toxins release, Water Crisis and Pollution. This paper through a doctrinal research tries to analyze the above mentioned environmental concerns and tries to suggest the probable solution for various problem that stands as obstacle in the way of sustainable development and access to justice. The Indian legislator has played a vital role in conserving environment and empowering the sustainable development and also enacted many laws and provisions such as Article 48A, Article 51-A (g) of the Indian constitution, and Acts like Easements Act 1882 which talks about the riparian owners right and unreasonable pollution of water, Fisheries Act, 1897 which penalized the killing of fish by water poisoning and by using explosives and other laws which follow the suits are The Factories Act, 1948, The River Boards Act, 1956 but most important of all these developments was the bringing into force of Environmental protection Act 1986, New Company Act, 2013 which deals with various aspects of social responsibility, development and moved forward for the preservation of environment. The Supreme Court of India in its effort devised two principles they are 'Polluter Pays' Principle which states that the polluter has to bear the cost of all remedial and clean up measures also the amount payable as compensation to pollution victims and 'Precautionary Principle' which requires the government authorities to anticipate, prevents, and attacks the causes of environmental pollution. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) 2010 was established with the view of speedy trials with respect to environmental matters and enforcement of legal rights relating to environment in this regard paper tries to analyze the process of functioning of NGT and tries to put forth a few suggestions to promote the better functioning of these tribunals by invoking the concept of public participation. However in spite of the constant efforts by Indian legislature and judiciary the existence of various environmental issues clearly indicates that there is a need for further effective implementation and enforcement of the existing laws and provisions which can only be attained through an active public participation in environmental decision making and resolving the environmental issues. The concept of public participation is one of the most important pillars of 'Aarhus convention' which was signed on 25th July in the Danish city of Aarhus which grants the public rights regarding access to information, public participation and access to justice in governmental decision making processes contained in Article 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the convention which is related to matters concerning the local, national and trans-boundary environment. It abridges the gap between public and public authorities. Access to environmental information is the necessary starting point for any public involvement in decision making process. Public participation is based on the belief that those who are affected by a decision have a right to be involved in the decision-making process. It promotes sustainable decisions by recognizing and communicating the needs and interests of all participants, including decision makers. The aim of this paper is to accentuate certain aspects of access to justice. To some extent this paper also concerns the role of the court in relation to the environmental area. It also compares the procedural aspects of the NGT with that of environmental court of Sweden. Further the paper intents to deal with the principle 17 of Rio declaration which states Environmental Impact Assessment. The objective of the paper is to seek right of the public both in present and future generation to know and to live in the healthy environment.