Page 56 - Coespu 2019-1
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IN DEPTH
by the High Court LEBOR now authorizes individuals
of Bangladesh to bring lawsuits against activities
declared rivers that infringe Lake Erie’s potential
as legal entities. right to “exist, flourish and natural-
The Court’s ju- ly evolve”, including pollution from
dgment included farming activities.
four fundamental This article was entirely conceived,
decisions: (1) in drafted and revised together with
pursuance of the Sarah Gregg.
doctrine of public
trust, the Court
declared that the
State shall exerci- Siddiqui M.S., 2019 – Court has
se the responsibi- granted rivers legal personali-
lities of a trustee ty, State must uphold their rights.
with respect to all The Financial Express. http://
the rivers, sea, today.thefinancialexpress.com.
mountains, fore- bd/views-reviews/court-has-
sts, lakes, ponds granted-rivers-legal-persona-
and other bodies lity-state-must-uphold-their-ri-
of water within ghts-1551450535.
the territory of the U.N. Environment, 2019 – Envi-
State; (2) in pur- ronmental Rule of Law. First glo-
suance of its pa- bal report. Nairobi. https://www.
rens patriae juri- unenvironment.org/resources/
sdiction, the Court assessment/environmental-ru-
accorded “living le-law-first-global-report.
entity” status to
of Peacekeeping Operations, UN the Turag river
Department of Field Support, UN and asked the authorities concer-
Peacebuilding and Interpol. ned to remove all structures from
Since the 1970s, 88 countries have its banks over the next 30 days; the
adopted a constitutional right to a Court also stated that this status
healthy environment, with an ad- will be applicable to all rivers in the
ditional 62 countries enshrining country, (3) the Court appointed
environmental protection in their the National River Protection Com-
constitutions in some form, a to- mission as the legal guardian of all
tal of 150 countries from all over rivers in the country, (4) from now
the globe with constitutional rights on, the National River Protection
and/or provisions on the environ- Commission will take the neces-
ment. After important examples in sary measures to protect all rivers
Ecuador, Bolivia, New Zealand, In- in the country (Siddiqui, 2019). In
dia and Nepal, 2019 began with a formal public vote on February
important legislation regarding 26, the important U.S. city of To- Lt.Col. Bruno Petriccione
recognition of nature’s right to be ledo in Ohio (300,000 inhabitan- Carabinieri Biodiversity and Park
defended in court by a human re- ts) approved the so-called LEBOR Protection Dept.
presentative, including for the first (Lake Erie Bill of Rights) as an
time in a prosperous western coun- amendment to the city’s charter,
try such as the U.S.A.. On February giving legal rights to the fourth lar-
03, a historic landmark judgment gest Great Lake and its watershed.
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