Tending Towards Greater Eco-Protection in Kenya

Public Interest Environmental Litigation and Its Prospects Within the New Constitutional Order

Bibliographic Data

ID16767988
AuthorsBrian Sang (corresponding author)
Year2013
Volume57
Issue1
Pages29-56
Publication date2013-04-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of African Law (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0221-8553 • E-ISSN: 1464-3731
PublisherCambridge University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1017/s0021855312000150
OpenAlexW2051094089
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited3

Kenya's 2010 Constitution has inaugurated into the Kenyan legal framework, among other things, express constitutional recognition of the right to a clean and healthy environment. The constitutionalization of this right and the establishment of liberal provisions for the institution of judicial proceedings in the event of its infraction bear significant implications for public enforcement of environmental rights in Kenya. Hitherto, this was based on the restrictive interpretation of locus standi premised on the principles of common law. This article focuses primarily on public interest environmental litigation in Kenya. It analyses judicial treatment of public interest action for environmental claims in the past and proffers some insights on the prospects for such action under Kenya's new constitutional order. It argues that, with the provision of an explicit and permissive constitutional basis for public interest environmental litigation, it is reasonable to conclude that Kenya is tending towards greater eco-protection

Constitution · Enforcement · Environmental law · Judicial interpretation · Kenya · Political science · Public interest · Environmental law and policy · International Environmental Law and Policies · International Law and Human Rights · Law

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