The Right to a Healthy Environment as a Peremptory Norm: Theoretical Foundations and Implications for Nigerian Environmental Litigation

This dissertation theorises the right to a healthy environment as an emerging peremptory norm (jus cogens) of international law, drawing on the 2022 UN General Assembly Resolution, the ILC's work on peremptory norms, and the progressive development of environmental rights in regional human rights systems, and examines the transformative implications this elevation would hold for Nigerian environmental litigation. The legal status of the right to a healthy environment has evolved significantly following the UN recognition resolution, yet its qualification as a peremptory norm remains contested both theoretically and doctrinally. Drawing on Hart's theory of law, Kelsen's hierarchy of norms, and the ILC's analytical criteria for peremptory norm qualification, this research develops an original theoretical argument for the right's jus cogens status and tests this argument against criteria including state practice, opinio juris, and non-derogability. It fills a critical gap in the environmental law literature by providing the first comprehensive theoretical argument for the peremptory norm status of the right to a healthy environment grounded in both general international law theory and regional human rights jurisprudence. The dissertation applies the argument empirically to Nigerian environmental litigation in the Niger Delta and South East, examining how jus cogens status would transform the legal positions available to communities and NGOs in domestic and international courts. Findings indicate that jus cogens elevation is theoretically defensible and would significantly strengthen environmental accountability in Nigeria. Keywords: jus cogens, right to environment, environmental litigation, Nigeria, peremptory norms.