Amicus Curiae Brief

This amicus curiae brief, submitted by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Vermont Law School Center for Applied Human Rights, provides legal analysis to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights regarding a request for an advisory opinion from the Republic of Colombia. The brief argues that State Parties to the American Convention on Human Rights have extraterritorial obligations to ensure their acts and omissions do not cause environmental harm that infringes on human rights outside their borders, and that the Convention should be interpreted through a normative dialogue with international environmental law.

• State Parties to the American Convention on Human Rights have an extraterritorial obligation to exercise due diligence to ensure that their acts and omissions do not cause environmental harm that violates the human rights of individuals or groups outside their national borders.
• Extraterritorial human rights obligations are triggered in three specific situations: when a State exercises authority or effective control; when State acts or omissions produce foreseeable effects on the enjoyment of rights; or when a State can exercise decisive influence to realize rights extraterritorially.
• The principle of systemic integration, codified in Article 31(3)(c) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, serves as the primary tool for normative dialogue, allowing the American Convention on Human Rights to be interpreted in light of relevant international environmental law.
• Customary international law establishes a binding obligation for States to prevent significant transboundary environmental harm, a principle reflected in the 1972 Stockholm Declaration and the 1992 Rio Declaration.
• States have a duty under customary international law to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) when a proposed activity risks having a significant adverse transboundary impact; failure to do so can establish State responsibility for resulting human rights impairments.
• The duty to cooperate is a foundational obligation of international environmental law, requiring States to engage in good faith, provide notification, and conduct consultations to prevent transboundary environmental damage.
• International environmental standards, including those in multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), can be used as benchmarks to determine the normative content of the right to life and as indicators for the progressive realization of the right to a healthy environment.
• The brief notes a significant global trend where over 140 national constitutions have incorporated environmental rights, which informs the evolving interpretation of the American Convention on Human Rights.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2017). Amicus Curiae Brief. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/CIEL-VLS-Amicus-brief-to-IACtHRs-18-JAN-2017.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Amicus Curiae Brief. 2017. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/CIEL-VLS-Amicus-brief-to-IACtHRs-18-JAN-2017.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Amicus Curiae Brief |date=18 January 2017 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/CIEL-VLS-Amicus-brief-to-IACtHRs-18-JAN-2017.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2017amicus, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Amicus Curiae Brief}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2017}, month = jan, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/CIEL-VLS-Amicus-brief-to-IACtHRs-18-JAN-2017.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }