Professional Documents
Culture Documents
FACTS:
Action was filed by several minors represented by their parents against the DENR to cancel
existing timber license agreements in the country and to stop issuance of new ones
Oposa claimed that the granting of the TLAs was done with grave abuse of discretion and
it violated their constitutional right to a balanced and healthful ecology
LAW/S:
ISSUE/S:
Whether or not the right to a balanced and healthful ecology is a substantive right
Whether or not the children have a legal standing
RULING:
YES, IT IS A SUBSTANTIVE RIGHT
The right to a balanced and healthful ecology is solemnly incorporated in the
fundamental law
The right is linked to the constitutional right to health, is fundamental,
constitutionalized, self-executing and judicially enforceable.
NOTE:
While the right to a balanced and healthful ecology is to be found under the Declaration of
Principles and State Policies and not under the Bill of Rights, it does not follow that it is less
important than any of the civil and political rights enumerated in the latter
The right imposes on the Government, the correlative duty to refrain from impairing the
environment.
Concepts of "inter-generational responsibility" and "inter-generational justice"