Rights of nature in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights: Understanding the ecocentric approach to the right to a healthy environment

Abstract

The recognition of the right to a healthy environment as an autonomous and justiciable right in Advisory Opinion OC-23/17 represents the turning point of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights towards the adoption of an ecocentric approach. This article examines how the interpretation of the right to a healthy environment suggests the acknowledgement of Nature as a holder of rights under the American Convention on Human Rights. First, it analyses how the Inter-American Court has addressed environmental protection in its jurisprudence, through procedural and substantive rights. Second, it studies the ecocentric interpretation of the right to a healthy environment in the Advisory Opinion OC-23/17 and in the case La Oroya v Peru. Lastly, it explores what are the consequences of understanding Nature as a holder of rights for the complaint procedure before the Inter-American Court.