How Does the HRC and Islamic Law Reshape the Environmental Litigation in Pakistan? Can Human Rights Committee’s Jurisprudence Reshape Environmental Litigation in Pakistan?

Abstract

Environmental degradation and climate change catastrophes, in each case and everywhere, has severe repercussions on various human rights including, but not restricted to, the right to life. Therefore, the issue is getting a wider recognition from institutions at national and global level. The Human Rights Committee in its General Comment No 36 and various individual complaints has linked up the climate change with the right to life which, in turn, poses questions to state party’s foreseeable procedural responsibilities under ICCPR. The HRC jurisprudence, like other state parties, is influencing the interpretation of constitutional provisions at domestic courts in Pakistan which, in turn, potentially gave impetus to the idea of environmental constitutionalism i.e., extending constitutional protection of the environmental matters though it was not expressly mentioned in the constitution.