Human rights-based climate litigation: a Latin American cartography

Auz, J (Auz, Juan)

Abstract: This article maps climate litigation developments in Latin America and their human rights and constitutional rights implications. As in other regions of the Global South, groups and individuals in Latin America have engaged in litigation to counter environmental harms threatening or violating the enjoyment of their human rights. Climate change, either as a primary or as a secondary concern, is slowly becoming a key focus of this form of strategic human rights-based litigation. Despite the gradual increase of the 'Latin American docket' of climate litigation cases, very few academic accounts have explored its legal dimensions or its contextual underpinnings. This article addresses this lacuna by identifying and examining the constitutional opportunities for and constraints upon adjudicating climate-related cases through human rights law, and also problematizes the development of climate litigation in Latin America by drawing attention to the influence of extractivist political and economic interests. The categories used for analysis stem from the literature on climate litigation in the Global South, case law and interviews with Latin-American litigants. The article concludes by stressing that this type of climate litigation is increasing and has led to several favourable verdicts, but caution is warranted as some political economy elements might hinder the development of such litigation, its inclusivity and long-term effectiveness.

Keywords: human rights; climate litigation; Latin America; constitutionalism; extractivism; legal opportunity structures; cartography

基于人权的气候诉讼：拉丁美洲制图

何洺萱

摘要：本文描绘了拉丁美洲气候诉讼的发展及其对人权和宪法权利的影响。如同在南半球的其他区域一样，拉丁美洲的团体和个人进行了诉讼，以对付威胁或侵犯其享有人权的环境损害。气候变化，无论是作为首要问题还是次要问题，这种基于人权的战略诉讼形式逐渐成为焦点。尽管气候诉讼案件的“拉丁美洲诉讼事件表”逐渐增加，但很少有学术报道探索其法律层面或背景基础。本文通过确定和审查通过人权法裁决气候相关案件的宪法机会和限制，解决这一空白，并通过提请注意采掘主义政治和经济利益的影响，对拉丁美洲气候诉讼的发展提出问题。用于分析的案例源于关于南半球气候诉讼的文献、判例法和对拉丁美洲诉讼当事人的采访。文章最后强调，这种类型的气候诉讼正在增加，并产生了一些有利的判决，但有必要注意，因为一些政治经济因素可能会阻碍这种诉讼的发展，其包容性和长期有效性。

关键词：人权；气候诉讼；拉丁美洲；宪政；采掘主义；合法机会结构；制图

文章来源：拉美法律政策研究公众号