Litigating Industrial Air Pollution in The Netherlands: The Impact of The European Court of Human Rights

This article will focus on how the development of the European Human Rights Convention (ECHR) by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) prompted Dutch environmental movements and citizens to rely on the ECHR to reduce industrial air pollution. It will further examine the decisive role of human rights in legal proceedings concerning industrial air pollution between environmental movements and affected individuals and the State and/or business entities. The impact of the developing case law by the ECtHR on Dutch cases such as the Air Quality cases, the Urgenda case and the Shell cases will be considered. This article will consider the effects of changing public opinion and scientific developments to understand the changing role of the ECHR in the Netherlands.