LEGAL MEASURES TO PROTECT THE RIGHT OF ESTATE OWNERS TO RECEIVE SUNLIGHT (RIGHT TO LIGHT)

Abstract

This article deals with the protection of the right of property owners to receive sunlight (Right to Light). As Bangkok has kept growing for a long time, the demand for space has been rising in spite of the fact that the available surface of the city is limited. This has led to the need of expanding the available space vertically. The increase of the height of buildings can result in the reduction or even blockage of sunlight for buildings in the neighborhood. Living indoors without any sunlight will increase basic costs of living, such as expenses for electricity or costs of health care. Sunlight is essential to physical and mental health. The conflicts that can arise from the blocking of sunlight can eventually end up in court. For instance, a Thai Court of Justice attempted to apply and interpret the Civil and Commercial Code, Wrongful Acts, to protect the right to sunlight.

In this article a comparative study examines how other countries recognize the right to sunlight as a human right, as the right to health and as a part of property rights. The topic can also be considered as concurring with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. Specifically, the laws of the UK and of Japan were analyzed. 

Based on the comparative study, this article proposes to protect the right of property owners to receive sunlight in Thailand. There are the following possibilities: First, in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand B.E. 2560 this matter of concern should be taken into account by a pertinent amendment. However, this appears to be a complicated process, which would need a considerable time to be accomplished. A second proposal may be more adequate to reaching swifter results: The right to receive sunlight can be protected by the law already in force. Courts of Law would then interpret and apply certain parts of the law that can cover the subject. Thirdly, the Civil and Commercial Code in particular should be amended by inserting explicitly the right to sunlight. Fourthly, on the level of building ordinances and regulations, a calculation of possible infringements of the right to sunlight should be made mandatory alongside other mechanisms such as EIA. Finally, the cooperation between organizations pertinent to building and the environment should grow so that the pursuit of the right to live in a clean, healthy and sustainable environment can be considered a universally acknowledged human right. When we look abroad, we find that In England the law recognizes the right to light as part of property rights, and in Japan the concept of so called nisshōken recognizes the right to sunlight as a citizen’s right. Based on the results of this study, it is concluded and suggested that Thailand should create and introduce measures to guarantee the right of property owners to sunlight in a practical and effective way.