Published on 23 September 2024
FIRST SECTION
Application no. 1838/21
Francesca MEUCCI
against Italy
lodged on 10 December 2020
communicated on 5 September 2024
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The application concerns the opening and operation of “Fosso del Cassero” landfill site in the proximity of the applicant’s home and her alleged exposure to the pollution generated by it.
Relying on Article 8 of the Convention, the applicant complains that in failing to take the requisite protective measures to prevent, minimise or eliminate the effects of the pollution from the landfill, the State authorities have caused serious damage to the environment, endangering her health and well-being and preventing her from enjoying her home. In particular, she maintains that the legislative and administrative framework put in place to regulate the activity in question proved ineffective and that the public authorities failed to take the necessary measures to adequately supervise and ensure the safe operation of the activity. She further complains that the authorisations to open and operate the landfill have not been preceded by adequate studies and impact assessments, that the people concerned have not been informed of the risks of living in the area and have not been involved in the relevant decision-making processes.
Relying on Article 13 taken in conjunction with Article 8, the applicant complains that no effective remedy exists in the Italian domestic legal framework to obtain, amongst other things, the cessation of the polluting activities.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Has there been a violation of the applicant’s right to respect for her private life and her home, contrary to Article 8 of the Convention?
(a) In particular, did the authorities strike a fair balance between the competing interests of the individual applicant and the community as a whole and, also in view of the alleged risk to the health and well-being of the applicant, comply with their obligation to take all reasonable and adequate measures to protect her rights under Article 8 (see Cordella and Others v. Italy, nos. 54414/13 and 54264/15, § 158, 24 January 2019, and Locascia and Others v. Italy, no. 35648/10, § 123, 19 October 2023)?
(b) In relation to the decision-making processes leading to the opening and continuing operation of the landfill, were the relevant decisions preceded by appropriate investigations and studies (see Giacomelli v. Italy, no. 59909/00, § 83, ECHR 2006-XII, and Dubetska and Others v. Ukraine, no. 30499/03, § 143, 10 February 2011)?
(c) Have the people concerned, including the applicant, been provided with information enabling them to assess the risks to which they have been exposed by continuing to live in the proximity of the landfill site (see Locascia and Others, cited above, § 125)?
2. Did the applicant have at her disposal an effective remedy for her complaints under Article 8 of the Convention, as required by Article 13 of the Convention (see Di Sarno and Others v. Italy, no. 30765/08, §§ 114-18, 10 January 2012, and Cordella and Others, cited above, §§ 175-76)?
The parties are further invited to indicate:
- any developments that have occurred since the introduction of the present application in the two sets of criminal proceedings concerning the “Fosso del Cassero” landfill which were ongoing before the Pistoia District Court (RGNR no. 3284/2019, later joined to RGNR no. 6781/2014 and RGNR no. 419/2017) and whether there are any other criminal proceedings (either ongoing or concluded) which concern the same landfill site and the surrounding area;
- any developments concerning (a) the epidemiological investigation on the cluster of sarcomas in the Casalguidi-Cantagrillo area (Serravalle Pistoiese municipality) launched in 2019 by the Tuscan local health authority (Azienda USL Toscana centro) and (b) the investigation on the groundwater contamination in the Serravalle Pistoiese municipality launched in 2018 by the Regional Environmental Protection Agency of Tuscany.
The parties are invited to provide copies of all the relevant documents.