Constitutional nature of the Charter for the environment of 2004

Abstract

The Charter for the environment of 2004 was enacted following President Jacques Chirac's determination during his campaign to re-elect the presidency. The Charter for the environment of 2004 is the basis for environmental rights in the French Constitution. The Charter for the environment of 2004 was enacted to give declarative and symbolic character. The Charter for the environment of 2004 includes rights to a healthy environment (Article 1), access to information to the environment, and participation in public decisions affecting the environment (Article 7), as well as principles of prevention (Article 3), precaution (Article 5), and sustainable development (Article 6). The Charter for the environment of 2004 also includes fundamental rights of future generations (Articles 1 and 7). The French Constitutional Court recently recognized the constitutional normative effect of the Charter for the environment of 2004, developing a position that further restricts legislators' discretion. The French Constitutional Court takes a position to recognize the subjective rights and horizontal effect of Article 1 of The Charter for the environment of 2004, and shows an attitude that further restricts the freedom of legislative formation on the right to information and participation in Article 7. In the case of Korea, there is an interpretation that understands environmental rights as a national task norm or goal clause that presents the direction of national action with binding force to state institutions and denies the nature of the subjective right. This interpretation should be critically reviewed in terms of the purpose of recognizing environmental rights under the Constitution of the Republic of Korea and the need to deal with desperate environmental problems such as the global climate crisis.