International Overview of the Right to Water in International Law and Its Presence in Constitutional Law

Abstract

There is no doubt that water, or as it is often called, “blue gold”, is our elementary need or basic necessity. Without water, life and an adequate quality of life are unimaginable; together with air, water is one of our most important global resources. Albeit the protection of the right to water was only developed in the last century, its formal and essential elements and its place in the system of basic human rights have undergone significant development, its content is currently expanding, and its relationship with the rest of the basic human rights is sometimes still controversial. International law has been dealing with the right to water since the second half of the 20th century, but in the last couple of decades, in addition to environmental protection and nature protection law, other areas of law, such as constitutional law, have also shown interest to the right to water. Many countries have raised the right to water to a constitutional level, thereby emphasizing the importance and need for a constitutional protection of the right to water.