Italy‘s mismanagement of waste in Campania has violated the human rights of the residents of the Naples and Caserta area. This is what the European Court of Human Rights ruled in a ruling approved unanimously.
The case had previously been brought to the court’s attention by 19 residents of Caserta and San Nicola la Strada.
In particular, the court found a violation of the right to respect for private and family life during the period of the state of emergency for the waste crisis in Campania, which lasted from 1994 to 2010. concerning the Lo Uttaro landfill.
On that occasion, the Italian authorities allegedly informed residents of the health risks arising from their proximity to the landfill but failed to implement the necessary measures to protect them from pollution and its effects.
The legal representatives of the Italian state argued during the hearings that the plaintiffs had not used the legal instruments available at national level. To this the EU Court replied that these instruments would in any case only partially resolve the environmental damage.
In particular, parts of the judgment say: “The Court observed that Caserta and San Nicola La Strada, had been affected by the waste management crisis from 1994 to 2009 and during that period the applicants had been forced to live in an environment polluted by waste piled up along the roads and by temporary waste storage sites This exposure to waste made the applicants more vulnerable to various diseases, the finding was supported by the scientific studies submitted by the applicants.”
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