D. G. Khan Cement Company v. Government of Punjab, Supreme Court of Pakistan (2019)

The Supreme Court of Pakistan acknowledged the necessity to grant legal personality to natural entities in this 2019 ruling. A cement company challenged the Provincial Government of Punjab for a notification barring construction of new cement plants and expansion of existing plants in environmentally sensitive areas. The Court found that the constitutional protection of the fundamental rights of the public necessitated environmental protection, and that “the environment needs to be protected in its own right.” Id. at p. 12. The Court explained: 

There is more to protecting nature than a human centered rights regime. We see elements of personhood have now been ascribed to nature by legislatures and courts around the world. The approach of personifying the environment in order to protect and preserve nature and its objects is one of the latest evolutions in environmental law. Man and his environment each need to compromise for the better of both and this peaceful co-existence requires that the law treats environmental objects as holders of legal rights.

 Id. at pp. 12-13.

The Court upheld the government’s decision, ruling that the cement company was not allowed to enlarge its facility. 

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