Környezethez való jog – újratöltve

Abstract

Since the adoption of the Fundamental Law in 2011, the interpretation of the new and extended vision of this Law in terms of the right to environment has not taken place. Fortunately, the year 2015 introduced several important steps worldwide and in Hungary, too. We may mention the Encyclical letter of Pope Francis – Laudato si’ –, the Paris Climate Summit and its closing agreement, the summaries of the European Court of Human Rights and also the activity of the UN Independent Expert on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. All these could keep the issue high on the international agenda. In Hungary, the Constitutional Court could issue its first decision on the right to environment (decision No. 16/2015), proving on the one hand the continuity of the interpretation of the previous constitutional setting and the current Fundamental Law, and emphasizing the added value of the latter as compared to the previous one. There are the following additional conceptual elements: the question of sustainable development and the widening of the extension of those, bound by the obligation to protect the environment, while the non-retrogression principle has not been changed. We discuss the principle in details, taking into consideration first of all its impact on the effectiveness and structural conditions of the environmental administration, referring to several recommendations of the National Council for Environmental Protection. Unfortunately, we could not come closer to the context of the two novelties of the Fundamental Law, which means that we are still waiting for the Constitutional Court to find the means of proper interpretation.