E-LAW Impact:
Bangladesh Citizens Gain the Power to Enforce
Environmental Laws
The Flood Action Plan would have affected more
than a million people.
March 31, 1998
 Citizens
and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can play a critical role
in enforcing environmental laws and protecting the environment.
However, to be effective, citizens must be able to go to court to
ask judges to enforce environmental laws. With E-LAW's help, the
Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) won a major
victory granting citizens the right to enforce environmental laws.
Bangladesh's Supreme Court ruled that NGOs may file lawsuits to
protect the public interest.
"Standing" is often a critical issue in citizens' efforts to enforce
environmental laws. When a plaintiff is granted standing, it means
that the plaintiff can go to court to enforce the law. The
Bangladesh Constitution states that a "person aggrieved" may bring a
case to court. In 1991, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh interpreted
this to mean a "person personally aggrieved." Because NGOs could not
be "personally aggrieved," that decision denied standing to NGOs and
closed the courtroom doors.
After this decision, NGOs in Bangladesh wanted to go to court to
challenge a pilot project of a proposed Flood Action Plan (FAP).
They claimed that the pilot project would displace people, create
unemployment, damage the soil and habitat of flora and fauna and
threaten human health and drinking water. According to BELA, the
project would have affected over a million people. BELA sued the
Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Land, Bangladesh Water
Development Board and the Flood Action Plan functionaries to stop
the project.
BELA called on the E-LAW network for cases from other countries
where courts allow NGOs to bring cases in the public interest.
Lawyers from several countries sent information for BELA to use in
its lawsuit. BELA filed the case on its own behalf and on behalf of
people who would be directly affected by the project. The lower
court denied BELA's standing. BELA appealed and the Supreme Court of
Bangladesh overturned the 1991 decision and granted standing to BELA.
This decision will empower Bangladesh citizens to enforce
evironmental laws. It should help courts around the world recognize
that citizens and NGOs can and should play a strong role in
defending the environment.
For more information about this E-LAW Impact, please contact:
Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, House 9 Road 8,
Dhanmondi R/A, Dhaka 1205, Bangladesh.
Source: http://www.elaw.org/ |
