(University of Oregon School of Law, 2011) Gellers, Josh
During the second half of the twentieth century, many countries
fundamentally altered the way in which their legal systems addressed environmental issues. In particular, legal innovations were developed
to offer citizens a means of redressing grievances against the state or
private entities for violating environmental regulations. The United
States began expanding access to its courts for environmental
litigation through a landmark decision that broadened the concept of
standing; India enlarged the field of potential claimants in
environmental litigation through a landmark decision and innovative
constitutional interpretation; Japan sought to provide avenues for
obtaining remedies through national environmental legislation, but
grievances have been more successfully redressed through major
decisions that have expanded the scope of constitutionally guaranteed
rights. Despite differences in governmental structure, legal doctrine,
and legislation, states have undergone dramatic transformations in the
way that the public interfaces with the legal system in order to right
environmental wrongs.
