The Right to a Healthy Environment in the Light of the New Case Law of the Croatian Constitutional Court

Absztrakt

This research paper aims to investigate if notable environmental matters have, in recent years, come before the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia, in light of the increasing number of similar cases brought before the highest courts in European countries (Chapter 1). Previous analyses concerning constitutional adjudication on environmental issues have revealed that the Croatian Constitutional Court has seldom invoked Article 69 of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, a provision which enshrines the right to a healthy life (Chapter 2). However, on 18 April 2023, the Constitutional Court rendered a landmark judgment wherein it affirmed that the Croatian Constitution protects the citizens’ right to a healthy life and environment. The case involved a dispute over the constitutionality of the Decision on the Order and Dynamics of Landfill Closure. This paper will thoroughly examine and scrutinise this significant constitutional case (Chapter 3). To commence, the analysis shall delineate the magnitude of Croatia’s waste manage- ment deficiencies—failings which were deemed by the Constitutional Court to violate the principle of legality and the constitutional duty to comply with EU laws (Chapter 3.1). Thereafter, the study shall address the formal inconsistency of the disputed Decision with the Constitution (Chapter 3.2). Subsequent chapters shall demonstrate how the Constitu- tional Court assessed point III of the contested Decisions as an excessive (and therefore disproportionate) limitation of the fundamental right to a healthy life and environment prescribed in Article 69 of the Constitution (Chapter 3.3) and further, how it encroached upon the constitutionally safeguarded right of citizens to local and regional self-gov- ernment (Chapter 3.4). The concluding portion of this paper shall recount the process by which the Constitutional Court’s decision took place (Chapter 3.5) and shall conclude with reflections upon the prospective influence this decision may exert upon the trajectory of environmental jurisprudence and legislative development within Croatia (Chapter 4).