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A statement by the Center for International Environmental Law calling for the United Nations to formally recognize the right to a healthy and sustainable environment to align with existing national and regional legal trends.

This briefing contains the applicants' notes for oral argument in a High Court case challenging the decisions of the Ministers of Environmental Affairs and Mineral Resources to permit mining in the Mabola Protected Environment (MPE). The applicants, a group of environmental and human rights NGOs, argue that the decisions were made without transparency, procedural fairness, or regard for the specific statutory duties imposed by the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (NEMPAA).

This document contains the applicants' heads of argument in a legal application to review and set aside decisions made by the Minister of Environmental Affairs and the Minister of Mineral Resources to grant Atha-Africa Ventures (Pty) Ltd permission to conduct commercial coal mining in the Mabola Protected Environment (MPE) in Mpumalanga, South Africa.

This technical briefing by the Climate Policy Initiative analyzes the Brazilian Supreme Court's (STF) rulings on the constitutionality of Law 12.651/2012 (the new Forest Code). The authors argue that by judging legal provisions separately rather than addressing the core issue of the July 22, 2008, time limit, the court has created contradictory rulings that threaten legal certainty and the effective implementation of environmental regulations.

This technical briefing by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) provides a detailed analysis and critique of Minister Luiz Fux's vote regarding several Direct Actions of Unconstitutionality (ADIs) challenging the Brazilian Forest Code (Law No. 12.651/2012). The document highlights legal inconsistencies in the Minister's approach to the July 22, 2008, temporal milestone and the potential impacts of declaring the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA) unconstitutional.

This amicus curiae brief, submitted by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide-US (ELAW), opposes a petition for a writ of mandamus in a case involving the right to a climate system capable of sustaining human life. The brief argues that the district court did not commit a clear legal error in recognizing this right, citing international law, treaties, and foreign and domestic jurisprudence to support the link between a stable climate and fundamental human rights.

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) argues that the proposed Multilateral Investment Court (MIC), championed by the European Union and Canada, fails to address the fundamental flaws of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) and instead prioritizes corporate rights over public interest, human rights, and environmental protections.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) submitted a formal statement to the Dr Pixley Ka Isaka Seme Local Municipality challenging a land use application for Portion 1 of the Farm Yzermyn 96 HT. The CER argues that the application for rezoning is legally flawed because no town-planning scheme exists for the area, and that the process has failed to meet statutory requirements for public notice and inspection.

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) and NAPC/PUC-Rio analyzes the obstacles preventing the effective conversion of environmental fines into environmental services in Brazil. It identifies a regulatory vacuum at the federal level and legal contradictions in the Forest Code that hinder the implementation of this instrument, and proposes recommendations for new federal regulations to increase the effectiveness of environmental recovery.

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.

A letter from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) to Minister-President Paul Magnette of Wallonia expressing support for his opposition to the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA), arguing that the agreement's Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) chapter threatens EU environmental and health regulations.

An open letter dated 7 July 2016, sent by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and over 65 other organisations to Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament. The letter expresses concerns that the European Commission is ignoring the European Parliament's 2015 Resolution on the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations with the US, specifically regarding public health, environmental protections, and democratic processes.

This policy brief examines the legal complexities and risks associated with foreign investment in African farmland, specifically focusing on the often-overlooked issue of water rights. It highlights a systemic imbalance where foreign investors' statutory rights frequently override the customary water rights of local communities, exacerbated by poor state enforcement and restrictive investment contracts.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) submitted recommendations to the Department of Environmental Affairs to amend the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA): National Appeal Regulations, 2014. The CER argues that the current regulations may violate the right to just administrative action under the Constitution and the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000 (PAJA), specifically regarding restrictive timeframes and procedural fairness for interested and affected parties (I&APs).

The Centre for Environmental Rights, acting on behalf of groundwork and the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance, submitted a formal appeal on 1 March 2016 to the Minister of Environmental Affairs. The appeal challenges the integrated environmental authorisation issued on 5 February 2016 for the construction of the 1050MW Colenso coal-fired power station and its associated infrastructure in KwaZulu-Natal.

This document is a manual produced by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) in December 2015 to comply with Section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (PAIA). It outlines the CER's role as a non-profit law clinic, identifies the Executive Director as the head for PAIA purposes, and details the procedures, fees, and categories of records available to the public for accessing information held by the organisation.

The Federation for a Sustainable Environment (FSE), represented by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), filed an internal appeal to the Director General of the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) on July 21, 2015. The appeal challenges the DMR's partial refusal to grant access to records regarding the Yzermyn underground coal mine project in Mpumalanga, which the FSE requested under the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA).

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) sent an urgent letter to the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) on 23 February 2015, requesting confirmation and documentation regarding a mining right allegedly granted to Atha-Africa Ventures (Pty) Ltd (AAV) within the Mabola Protected Environment.

This report by Friends of the Earth International critiques the 'financialization of nature,' arguing that redefining nature as a set of quantifiable 'ecosystem services' serves as a tool for capital markets to maximize profits and reduce industrial costs rather than protecting biodiversity.

This amicus curiae brief, submitted by member organizations of the El Salvador National Roundtable on Mining (La Mesa) via the Center for International Environmental Law, argues that El Salvador's denial of a mining exploitation concession to Pac Rim Cayman LLC was consistent with international human rights and environmental obligations. The brief contends that the state must implement regulatory frameworks to protect citizens from the risks of extractive industries, particularly in water-scarce regions, and that public interest should be defined through environmental democracy and access rights.