The environmental rule of law seeks to facilitate a multi-disciplinary analysis of the nature and consequences of carbon footprints and in doing so it brings a shared understanding between science, regulatory decisions and policy perspectives in the field of environmental protection. It recognises that the “law” element in the environmental rule of law does not make the concept peculiarly the preserve of Lawyers and Judges. On the contrary, it seeks to draw within the fold all stakeholders in formulating strategies to deal with current challenges posed by environmental degradation, climate change and the destruction of habitats. The environmental rule of law seeks a unified understanding of these concepts. There are significant linkages between concepts such as sustainable development, the polluter pays principle etc. The universe of nature is indivisible and integrated. The state of the environment in one part of the earth affects and is fundamentally affected by what occurs in another part. Every element of the environment shares a symbiotic relationship with the others. It is this inseparable bond and connect which the environmental rule of law seeks to explore and understand in order to find solutions to the pressing problems which threaten the existence of humanity. The environmental rule of law is founded on the need to understand the consequences of our actions going beyond local, State and national boundaries. The rise in the oceans threatens not just maritime communities. The rise in temperatures, dilution of glaciers and growing desertification have consequences which go beyond the communities and creatures whose habitats are threatened. They affect the future survival of the entire eco-system. The environmental rule of law attempts to weave an understanding of the connections in the natural environment which make the issue of survival a unified challenge which confronts human societies everywhere.
(Extract from Pragnesh Shah v. Arunkumar Sharma (2022) 11 SCC 493 )
What distinguishes the environmental rule of law from the broader concept of the rule of law?
- Its exclusive focus on legal principles
- Its emphasis on environmental governance
- Its reliance on judicial decisions
- Its alignment with international treaties
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
The environmental rule of law is distinguished from the broader concept of the rule of law primarily by its emphasis on environmental governance. While the rule of law in general pertains to the adherence to laws, their process, and upholding justice, the environmental rule of law incorporates unique features specific to environmental governance. It serves to create an integrated framework consisting of conceptual, procedural, and institutional tools to address environmental protection.
This specialized version of the rule of law acknowledges the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach for the analysis of environmental issues, such as carbon footprints, and promotes a shared understanding between scientific, regulatory, and policy perspectives. It goes beyond jurisdictional confines to address global challenges like environmental degradation, climate change, and habitat destruction, promoting sustainable development and principles such as the polluter pays principle.
Moreover, the environmental rule of law seeks to involve all stakeholders, not just legal professionals, in formulating strategies for contemporary ecological challenges. It recognizes the interconnectedness of nature, where environmental conditions in one region impact others globally. It aims to understand these connections to devise solutions critical for human survival.
Ultimately, this nuanced emphasis on environmental governance differentiates the environmental rule of law by fostering an integrated approach to addressing and understanding the global environmental challenges that transcend local, state, and national boundaries.
What is the primary objective of the environmental rule of law?
- To protect wildlife habitats
- To enhance understanding of environmental challenges
- To promote economic development
- To enforce local environmental regulations
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
The primary objective of the environmental rule of law is to enhance understanding of environmental challenges. This is articulated through its conceptual, procedural, and institutional tools that structure discussions around environmental protection. Here are the key points:
- The environmental rule of law is a specialized facet within the broader context of the rule of law, aiming to address unique environmental governance aspects.
- It enhances understanding of environmental challenges by examining the impacts of humanity's interactions with nature historically, currently, and in the future.
- The rule of law in this context facilitates interdisciplinary analysis, bridging science, regulatory actions, and policy perspectives.
- It encompasses stakeholders from diverse backgrounds to formulate strategies against challenges like environmental degradation and climate change.
- Recognizing the interconnectedness of the environment, it explores the nature and consequences of activities impacting the global ecosystem, promoting a universal understanding necessary for sustainable solutions.
Additionally, it goes beyond local jurisdictions, addressing global environmental impacts and the intricate symbiotic relationships that exist within ecosystems, emphasizing the need to comprehend these connections for the sustainable future of humanity and the planet.
Environmental Protection and Improvement were incorporated into the Constitution of India by inserting Articles 48-A and 51-A (g) by virtue of which of the following amendments?
- 42nd Amendment Act, 1976
- 44th Amendment Act, 1978
- 45th Amendment Act, 1980
- 35th Amendment Act, 1974
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
The Constitution of India originally did not have specific provisions related to the environment. However, with growing awareness about environmental issues, the need to address and incorporate environmental protection into the Constitution was recognized. The amendments that introduced specific provisions for environmental protection are:
- Article 48-A, which directs the State to endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country, was inserted into the Directive Principles of State Policy.
- Article 51-A (g) enjoins a fundamental duty upon every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife, and to have compassion for living creatures.
Both of these articles were incorporated by the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976. This amendment is significant because it marked the formal recognition of environmental issues in the framework of legal governance in India, and laid down the foundation for a structured approach to environmental protection and improvement.
In which international forum did the ‘Environmental rule of Law’ find recognition for the first time?
- Stockholm Conference on Human Environment, 1970
- Stockholm Declaration on Environment, 1992
- Rio Declaration on Environment, Sustainable Development, 2002
- UNEP’s Governing Council Decision 279, 2013
The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
The concept of the 'Environmental rule of Law' found its first major recognition in the international arena through the UNEP’s Governing Council Decision 279, 2013. This forum highlighted the unique characteristics of environmental governance, emphasizing the creation of conceptual, procedural, and institutional tools to address environmental challenges. The environmental rule of law provides a framework that spans beyond legal boundaries, incorporating insights from science, policymaking, and regulatory domains. It stresses the integrated and indivisible nature of environmental elements, asserting that the state of the environment in one area affects the entirety of the planet. Thus, its recognition in UNEP’s Governing Council Decision not only legitimized its importance but also highlighted the need for a cross-disciplinary approach to tackle environmental issues including climate change, habitat destruction, and more, considering the impact of human actions across local, state, and national boundaries.
What does the environmental rule of law seek to achieve beyond local and national boundaries?
- Economic growth
- Environmental justice
- Political stability
- Cultural preservation
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Top Questions on Environmental Law
- Which of the following statement is not true regarding the object of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010?
- AILET LLM - 2026
- Legal Studies
- Environmental Law
- The Parliament has enacted an Act to provide for the constitution of the Commission for the purpose of protecting and improving the quality of the air in the National Capital Region and adjoining areas. The name of the Act is
- AILET LLM - 2026
- Legal Studies
- Environmental Law
Today, in the year 2025, we have been experiencing the drastic consequences of large scale destruction of environment on human lives in the capital city of our country and in many other cities. At least for a span of two months every year, the residents of Delhi suffocate due to air pollution. The AQI level is either dangerous or very dangerous. They suffer in their health. The other leading cities are not far behind. The air and water pollution in the cities is ever increasing. Therefore, coming out with measures such as the 2021 Official Memorandum is violative of fundamental rights of all persons guaranteed under Article 21 to live in a pollution free environment. It also infringes the right to health guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The 2021 OM talks about the concept of development. Can there be development at the cost of environment? Conservation of environment and its improvement is an essential part of the concept of development. Therefore, going out of the way by issuing such OMs to protect those who have caused harm to the environment has to be deprecated by the Courts which are under a constitutional and statutory mandate to uphold the fundamental right under Article 21 and to protect the environment. In fact, the Courts should comedown heavily on such attempts. As stated earlier, the 2021 OM deals with project proponents who were fully aware of the EIA notification and who have taken conscious risk to flout the EIA notification and go ahead with the construction/continuation/expansion of projects. They have shown scant respect to the law and their duty to protect the environment. Apart from violation of Article 21, such action is completely arbitrary which is violative article 14 of the Constitution of India, besides being violative of the 1986 Act and the EIA notification.
(Extracted with edits from Vanashakti v. Union of India, 2025 INSC 718)- CLAT PG - 2026
- Legal Studies
- Environmental Law
With the Paris Agreement, countries established an enhanced transparency frame work (ETF). Under ETF, starting in 2024, countries will report transparently on actions taken and progress in climate change mitigation, adaptation measures and support provided or received. It also provides for international procedures for the review of the submitted reports.
The information gathered through the ETF will feed into the Global stocktake which will assess the collective progress towards the long-term climate goals. This will lead to recommendations for countries to set more ambitious plans in the next round.
Although climate change action needs to be massively increased to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, the years since its entry into force have already sparked low-carbon solutions and new markets. More and more countries, regions, cities and companies are establishing carbon neutrality targets. Zero-carbon solutions are becoming competitive across economic sectors representing 25% of emissions. This trend is most noticeable in the power and transport sectors and has created many new business opportunities for early movers. By 2030, zero-carbon solutions could be competitive in sectors representing over 70% of global emissions.
(Extracted with edits from the website UNFCCC.INT)- CLAT PG - 2026
- Legal Studies
- Environmental Law
- Air Pollutant under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 would include: (A) Solid Substance
(B) Liquid Substance
(C) Noise
(D) Chimney Choose the correct answer from the options given below:- CUET (PG) - 2025
- LLM
- Environmental Law
Questions Asked in CLAT PG exam
The document presents a critique of the United Nations (UN) organization, arguing that it has failed to carry out its charter-mandated tasks, specifically to ”maintain international peace and security” and ”to achieve international cooperation” in solving global problems. The author notes growing public frustration with catastrophic humanitarian situations and the failure of peace-keeping operations, leading to widespread scepticism about the possibility of ”revitalization”.
UN Reform Approaches
Discussions on UN reform are divided into two main categories: the conservative approach and the radical approach.
1. Conservative Approach:
The conservative view considers the existing Charter ”practically untouchable” and believes in improving ”collective security” as defined in Chapter VII. Key positions include:
- US Position: Prioritizes its own interests, supports better management and the creation of an Inspector General, favours enlarging the Security Council (to include Germany and Japan, mainly for financing peace-keeping), and associates the UN with regional organizations like NATO for peace enforcement. The US remains reluctant to allow full application of Chapter VII and views collective security restrictively.
- Secretary-General’s Position (Boutros Ghali): Advocated for the full implementation of ’collective security’ as envisaged in 1945, including the use of the Military Staff Committee (Article 47) and the conclusion of special agreements (Article 43) for providing armed forces. He also proposed ’peace enforcement units’ under the command of the Secretary-General and wider use of ’preventive diplomacy’. The report candidly recognized the Security Council’s incapacity to deal with threats from a major power.
2. Radical Approach:
The radical approach criticizes the principles of the present system and proposes an overhaul. It reflects increasing doubts about the value of the Charter’s collective security system, especially in intra-State conflicts. Radical proposals include:
- Establishing an Economic Security Council.
- Modifying the Charter with less reluctance.
- Reforming the IMF and World Bank.
- Developing a new global security system .
- The creation of a consultative parliamentary assembly at the world level.
Future Outlook:
The author asserts that no major or minor reform has any chance of being implemented now, primarily because the Charter’s amendment procedures (requiring a two-thirds majority including all five permanent Security Council members) preclude agreement. However, he concludes that the continuing deterioration of the global situation, driven by economic integration, rising inequality, and intra-State conflicts, will inevitably lead the political establishment to define a new global institutional structure. This future debate will become highly political.
- CLAT PG - 2026
- International Law
“Section 55 of the Indian Contract Act says that when a party to a contract promises to do a certain thing within a specified time but fails to do so, the contract or so much of it as has not been performed, becomes voidable at the option of the promisee if the intention of the parties was, that time should be of the essence of the contract. If time is not the essence of the contract, the contract does not become voidable by the failure to do such thing on or before the specified time but the promisee is entitled to compensation from the promisor for any loss occasioned to him by such failure. Further, if in case of a contract voidable on account of the promisor’s failure to perform his promise within the time agreed and the promisee accepts performance of such promise at any time other than that agreed, the promisee cannot claim compensation for any loss occasioned by the non-performance of the promise at the time agreed, unless, at the time of such acceptance he gives notice to the promisor of his intention to do so.
Sections 73 and 74 deal with consequences of breach of contract. Heading of Sec tion 73 is compensation for loss or damage caused by breach of contract. When a contract is broken, the party who suffers by such breach is entitled to receive from the party who has broken the contract compensation for any loss or damage caused to him thereby which naturally arose in the usual course of things from such breach or which the parties knew when they made the contract to be likely to result from the breach of it. On the other hand, Section 74 deals with compen sation for breach of contract where penalty is stipulated for. When a contract is broken, if a sum is mentioned in the contract as the amount to be paid in case of such breach or if the contract contains any other stipulation by way of penalty, the party complaining of the breach is entitled whether or not actually damage or loss is proved to have been caused thereby, to receive from the party who has broken the contract reasonable compensation not exceeding the amount so named or the penalty stipulated for.”
tracted from: Consolidated Construction Consortium Limited v Software Technol ogy Parks of India 2025 INSC 574- CLAT PG - 2026
- Contract Law
“Law treats all contracts with equal respect and unless a contract is proved to suffer from any of the vitiating factors, the terms and conditions have to be enforced regardless of the relative strengths and weakness of the parties.
Section 28 of the Contract Act does not bar exclusive jurisdiction clauses. What has been barred is the absolute restriction of any party from approaching a legal forum. The right to legal adjudication cannot be taken away from any party through contract but can be relegated to a set of Courts for the ease of the parties. In the present dispute, the clause does not take away the right of the employee to pursue a legal claim but only restricts the employee to pursue those claims before the courts in Mumbai alone.
... the Court must already have jurisdiction to entertain such a legal claim. This limb pertains to the fact that a contract cannot confer jurisdiction on a court that did not have such a jurisdiction in the first place.”
Extracted from: Rakesh Kumar Verma v HDFC Bank Ltd 2025 INSC 473- CLAT PG - 2026
- Contract Law
- “The law is well settled that a constitutional court can award monetary compen sation against the State and its officials for its failure to safeguard fundamental rights of citizens but there is no system or method to measure the damages caused in such situations. Quite often the courts have a difficult task in determining dam ages in various fact situations. The yardsticks normally adopted for determining the compensation payable in private tort claims are not as such applicable when a constitutional court determines the compensation in cases where there is a viola tion of fundamental rights guaranteed to its citizens.
... In D.K. Basu v. State of W.B. [(1997) SCC 1 416], a Constitution Bench of this Court held that there is no straitjacket formula for computation of damages and we find that there is no uniformity or yardstick followed in awarding damages for violation of fundamental rights. In Rudul Sah case [Rudul Sah v. State of Bihar, (1983) 4 SCC 141] this Court used the terminology ’palliative’ for measuring the damages and the formula of ’adhoc’ was applied. In Sebastian Hongray case [Se bastian M. Hongray v. Union of India, (1984) 3 SCC 82] the expression used by this Court for determining the monetary compensation was ’exemplary’ costs and the formula adopted was ’punitive’. In Bhim Singh case [Bhim Singh v. State of J & K, (1985) 4 SCC 677], the expression used by the Court was ’compensation’ and the method adopted was ’tortious formula’. In D.K. Basu v. State of W.B. [(1997) SCC 1 416] the expression used by this Court for determining the compensation was ’monetary compensation’. The formula adopted was ’cost to cost’ method. Courts have not, therefore, adopted a uniform criterion since no statutory formula has been laid down.”
tracted from: Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Delhi v Uphaar Tragedy Victims Association (2011) 14 SCC 481- CLAT PG - 2026
- Constitutional Laws
- It is well recognized that actionable negligence in context of medical profession involves three constituents (i) duty to exercise due care; (ii) breach of duty and (iii) consequential damage. However, a simple lack of care, an error of judgment or an accident is not sufficient proof of negligence on part of the medical professional so long as the doctor follows the acceptable practice of the medical profession in discharge of his duties. He cannot be held liable for negligence merely because a better alternative treatment or course of treatment was available or that more skilled doctors were there who could have administered better treatment.
A medical professional may be held liable for negligence only when he is not pos sessed with the requisite qualification or skill or when he fails to exercise reasonable skill which he possesses in giving the treatment. None of the above two essential conditions for establishing negligence stand satisfied in the case at hand as no ev idence was brought on record to prove that Dr. Neeraj Sud had not exercised due diligence, care or skill which he possessed in operating the patient and giving treatment to him. When reasonable care, expected of the medical professional, is extended or rendered to the patient unless contrary is proved, it would not be a case for actionable negligence.
tracted with edits and revisions from Neeraj Sud v Jaswinder Singh 2024 INSC 825- CLAT PG - 2026
- Law of Torts