Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part I: Conceptualizing the role of courts in protecting the environment -- The nature of courts -- Bridging the gap between aspiration and outcomes: the role of the court in ensuring ecologically sustainable development -- The legitimate role of rights-based approaches to environmental conflict resolution -- Part II: Taking the lead: the court as trailblazer for environmental protection -- Ghana's courts and environmental rule of law -- Activity of the Brazilian judiciary in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes aimed at combating global warming -- Procedural and substantive innovations propounded by the Indian judiciary in balancing protection of environment and development: a legal analysis -- Part III: Access to justice for the environment -- Inviting civil society to the table: the case of the African Commission -- Collective environmental litigation in Columbia: an empirical assessment -- Are courts colour blind to country? Indigenous cultural heritage, environmental law and the Australian judicial system -- What Chinese courts could learn from the USA: the approach of public interest litigation under the new China Environmental Protection Law -- Protection of environmental rights of citizens in the courts of Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine -- Part IV: Courts in action -- The challenge of bringing transnational corporations to justice for environmental damage: a case study of Texaco Oil Company and Chevron vs. Lago Agrio Plaintiffs -- Enhancing corporate responsibilities to fulfil the right to a clean environment: a lesson learned from Indonesian courts -- The Urgenda case: a successful example of public interest litigation for the protection of the environment? -- US climate change adjudication: the epic journey from a petition for rulemaking to national greenhouse gas regulation -- A review of environmental courts and tribunals for CSOs and the judiciary -- Swedish environment courts - specialized civil and administrative courts.