Recognition of the Right to the Environment in the Light of International Documents and Judicial Procedures

The environment is considered the common heritage of humanity and a public trust. Given the international community's understanding of the importance of the environment and the shift from human-centered to ecosystem-centered, it is essential that the right to the environment be recognized as one of the fundamental human rights. The strong and effective relationship between environmental degradation and pollution and the resulting weakening of human rights explains the deep and close link between environmental protection and human rights. This research, written in a descriptive-analytical manner, aims to outline the path and process of the international community's efforts to recognize the right to the environment through an examination of important international and regional documents as well as judicial procedures in existing human rights systems. The results of this research indicate that despite the acceptance of the importance of the environment for the realization of human rights, none of the human rights documents have recognized the right to the environment. Recognizing the right to the environment, along with other fundamental human rights, can be fruitful and useful in legally protecting this right, on which human life depends.