International Environmental Law in a Nutshell
Authors:
Guruswamy, Lakshman D. / Leach, Mariah Zebrowski
Edition:
5th
Copyright Date:
2017
28 chapters
have results for international environmental law
Chapter One. Sources and Forms of International Environmental Law 60 results (showing 5 best matches)
- IEL possesses some features that distinguish it from traditional international law. First, its creation and vigorous, if uneven, growth owe much to national environmental laws and policies. States frequently have been driven into landmark international agreements and practices by the momentum of law, regulation, and policies applicable to their own environmental challenges, and not necessarily because of the gravity of international problems. Second, national environmental regulatory laws and the conceptual frameworks of environmental sciences have been inevitably, albeit asymmetrically, infused into the corpus of IEL.
- International Environmental Law (IEL) bears a name that reflects its content. At its substantive core, IEL endeavors to control pollution and the depletion of natural resources within a framework of sustainable development (SD). Although the presence of both the terms “international” and “environmental” in its name suggests parity between national and international laws, IEL is formally a branch of public international law—a body of law created by States for States to govern problems that arise between States.
- instruments in addition to a host of declarations and United Nations (UN) General Assembly resolutions, some of which express “soft” IEL, while others articulate and restate existing rules of customary law [International Environmental Agreements (IEA), http://iea.uoregon.edu (last visited Apr. 2017)]. Moreover, it boasts a small but growing body of judicial decisions (case law) and general principles of law. A look at the substantial document supplements to course books and treatises, for example, offers ample evidence of this growing corpus of IEL [
- General principles have the potential for assuming a new role under IEL. In Chapter 18, The Future of IEL, we envision IEL’s merger with national environmental laws to become part of the common law of humankind. Environmental protection, like justice, may be found within Natural law, Islamic, Buddhist, and Confucian jurisprudential lineages. [Lakshman Guruswamy,
- The criterion that is most commonly used to distinguish hard and soft law is that only hard law instruments are legally binding. International law scholars, particularly in the area of customary international law, have long recognized the importance of States’
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Appendix 39 results (showing 5 best matches)
- In July 1993, the ICJ established a seven-member Chamber for Environmental Matters to aid in the formulation of an international environmental jurisprudence. But the ICJ’s impact on international environmental law (IEL) begins much earlier in cases ( Ch. 17). Though reticent at times to flex its power, the ICJ has provided authoritative restatements on many aspects of international law that have an important bearing on environmental matters.
- ...Conservation Union (IUCN), founded in 1948, is a non-governmental organization whose broad capabilities include the development of conservation strategies. The IUCN seeks “to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable.” The IUCN has over 1,000 members, which include both governments and non-governmental organizations. Although it has played an important role in the formulation of IEL jurisprudence, its resolutions are non-binding. It has helped formulate a Convention on Biological Diversity (Biodiversity Convention), the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage Convention), the 1973 Convention on Trade in Endangered Species and Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the 1971 Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention), and the 1979...
- The World Bank began with the formation of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) at the UN Monetary and Financial Conference held at Bretton Woods in 1944. The World Bank’s original purpose was the rebuilding of post-WWII Europe. Today, the World Bank provides funds and expertise for the improvement of developing nations. The World Bank is a group composed of five organizations: (1) the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD—established in 1944), (2) the International Development Association (established in 1960), (3) the International Finance Corporation (IFC—established in 1956), (4) the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (established in 1988), and (5) the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (established in 1966). In the ...Bank responded to environmental concerns by creating an Environment Department and Operational Directives that addressed involuntary resettlement, indigenous people, the involvement of...
- The World Trade Organization (WTO) is a permanent institution, established in 1995 as a result of the Uruguay Round trade negotiations and the Marrakesh Declaration. It is a centralized international agency for promoting free trade. The WTO is at once a platform for international trade relations, a provider of framework trade legislation, an overseer of trade policies, and a forum for the resolution of trade disputes. In a tentative and hesitant attempt to incorporate an environmental dimension in its policies, a WTO General Council Committee on trade and the environment reported to the WTO ministerial conference at Singapore in December of 1996. While the WTO has no specific agreement dealing with the environment, a number of WTO agreements include provisions dealing with environmental concerns. Indeed, the preamble to the Agreement Establishing the WTO identifies sustainable development and environmental protection as part of its objectives. Currently the WTO has 153 members.
- The Global Environmental Facility (GEF) is a funding institution jointly created by the World Bank, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It was formed in 1990, initially with $1.2 billion to be used to fund environmental protection efforts. The GEF is designed to aid developing countries with six primary environmental issues: (1) climate change, (2) stratospheric ozone depletion, (3) loss of biological diversity, (4) pollution of international waters, (5) land degradation, and (6) persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
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Preface 5 results
- There have been significant changes in International Environmental Law (IEL) since the fourth edition of this book. In this fifth edition, we have attempted to come abreast of these changes. Climate change has emerged as the greatest environmental issue of our time, and treaty law has changed. Consequently, we have focused attention on the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change, but not the Kyoto Protocol, which is effectively moribund. We have continued to follow some of the difficult international environmental challenges arising from the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima, Japan. There have been changes to some of the treaties and other instruments of international environmental law and policy, and we have attempted to incorporate these changes in the fifth edition.
- International environmental lawyers in their law-making or law-applying roles act as the gatekeepers of international society. They are constantly confronted with competing theories, ideas, and conclusions that clamor for admission into the law. Lawyers engaged in real life law making or interpretation do not have the luxury of ignoring the science or the politics surrounding them. They are compelled to make hard decisions about concepts and ideas. In light of this reality, an early introduction to the socio-scientific context equips them to better understand the tasks they will confront. Students and practitioners, in whose hands the future of IEL lies, need to appreciate that law is shaped by socio political, economic, and behavioral predicates. Unfortunately, these foundational premises of international environmental problems have not received the academic and scholarly attention they deserve.
- We have tried to remedy this shortcoming and have provided a more extensive review of relevant socio-scientific findings and their causal importance to substantive law. The page constraints of this book, and the changing legal character of the European Union (EU) as it evolves from an international organization into a confederation, restraints us from exploring the substantive corpus of EU environmental laws.
- The core of this book attempts to distill the socio-scientific evidence confronting law-makers as they negotiate the form and content of substantive IEL. The for the development and creation of IEL is the need for new laws that address the phenomena of environmental degradation in a way that existing laws are unable to do. In responding to this challenge, negotiators and lawmakers in all major treaties have adopted an approach that assimilates and incorporates the findings of the physical, natural, social, and political sciences within an interdisciplinary framework.
- A review of contemporary theoretical and academic legal writing addressing the global environment quickly reveals the extent to which IEL has been treated as an autonomous subject. But this is not particular to the discipline of law. Other disciplines also remain insular in their outlook. Whether emanating from the physical, natural, social or political sciences, or law, the tendency is for writers to address those within their own discipline. The result is a narrow outlook that contributes little toward the fuller understanding of IEL.
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Chapter Seventeen. Nuclear Damage 52 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Until the total phase-out of nuclear testing occurs, the customary international law status of such explosions remains in doubt. The general international support for the CTBT, coupled with state practice in this area, support a strong claim that customary international law forbids the atmospheric, outer space, or underwater testing of nuclear weapons. This would appear to be the rule even in the absence of transboundary environmental harm. On the other hand, the status of underground testing remains problematic. Should the testing cause significant environmental damage, or a threat of such damage, to another State, the well-settled general prohibition against such damage would control. Without transboundary environmental harm, however, and until the CTBT comes into its own, it seems doubtful that underground testing would violate customary international law.
- As the dangers of nuclear contamination have gradually become more apparent over the years, the international community has struggled to develop rules governing both the civilian and military uses of nuclear energy. In this section of the book, we first outline how the international community has addressed the intractable challenge of nuclear weapons, despite formidable political difficulties. We next outline the response of international environmental law (IEL) to the dangers of civilian nuclear power generation. Finally, we discuss the regime governing accidents at nuclear installations and the question of liability.
- (ii) that is unlawful for France to conduct such nuclear tests before it has undertaken an Environmental Impact Assessment according to accepted international standards. Unless such an assessment establishes that the tests will not give rise, directly or indirectly, to radioactive contamination of the marine environment the rights under international law of New Zealand, as well as the rights of other States, will be violated [
- The legal fallout from Chernobyl has arguably undermined the strength of the customary law rule prohibiting States from causing transboundary environmental harm. In the specific area of liability for nuclear accidents, the necessary doctrinal component of State practice appears lacking, as no aggrieved State brought a formal claim against the former Soviet Union (though several reserved the right to do so). The result obviously questions whether States are legally responsible for this type of nuclear harm under customary international law. Simply put, if, in the face of widespread damage, no claims were filed and no compensation volunteered or awarded, then how can liability for nuclear accidents exist under international law?
- Judge Weermantry argued against the narrow formalism of the majority, and showed a willingness to discuss all the important issues brought forward—including transboundary environmental harm, intergenerational equity, the precautionary principle, environmental impact assessment, and protection of the marine environment. Unfortunately, due to the reticence of the ICJ, a majority decision on these issues of general customary international law must await another day. And regarding the specific status of underground nuclear testing, in the near future it is unlikely that the ICJ will obtain jurisdiction over a seminal case. More probably, a ratified CTBT will provide primary guidance in this area.
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Chapter Eleven. Pollution by Vessels and Offshore Oil Platforms 60 results (showing 5 best matches)
- The international response to vessel pollution has been more satisfactory than in many other areas of international environmental law (IEL). International law has responded to the two different causes of vessel pollution: (1) the general operation of commercial shipping; and (2) the occasional accident occurring at sea (
- The most adverse environmental impacts of rigs and platforms usually occur during the exploration and production stages. Offshore activities, such as platform emplacement, dredging, pipe-laying, and construction of support facilities, cause physical disturbances and produce various emissions and discharges of pollutants into the oceans [Sakhalin Energy Investment Company,
- In 2005, the International Ocean Noise Coalition successfully lobbied the United Nations (UN) to acknowledge the dangers of ocean noise to marine life, particularly its effect on whales. The UN passed a resolution encouraging “further studies and consideration of the impacts of ocean noise on marine living resources” [ .] While the scope and severity of the problem pales in comparison to coral reef destruction, marine noise pollution is an important proxy of the visibility of marine life conservation measures in the international community. Indeed, because noise pollution does not cause property damage or economic losses to businesses, often the driving force in other “environmental measures,” the fact that the UN is addressing it is an indication of genuine environmental concern. Moreover, because of the long reach of sonar and its widespread use on the open seas, it is a problem uniquely suited to an international solution.
- Pollution caused by ships is regulated by well-established international laws dealing with different aspects of vessel-based pollution. With a few exceptions, mentioned below, these international treaties do not control pollution caused by offshore oil rigs and platforms. We begin with pollution from ships, which is extensively covered by a variety of treaties and calls for analysis commensurate with its legal status and import. By contrast, oil rigs and platforms are only sparingly dealt with under international law, and will not receive as much attention.
- Several new treaties relating to the conservation of marine living resources deal with ship pollution from a uniquely environmental standpoint. The IMO developed the International Convention on the Control of Anti-Fouling Systems on Ships in 2001 [
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Index 131 results (showing 5 best matches)
- , Chapter One, Sources and Forms of International Environmental Law; Origins and Development of International Law
- See Implementation of International Environmental Law
- See International Environmental Law
- FUTURE OF INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
- See Implementation of International Environmental Law; Institutions and organizations
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Chapter Three. Implementation and Compliance 109 results (showing 5 best matches)
- When one nation brings another to court, it relies on SR, a form of international tort law. Before examining the main features of SR, it is relevant to note that the considerable theoretical attention given to the concept stands in stark contrast to its conspicuous absence in environmental treaties. The stubborn fact is that questions of how to claim compensation for the breach of international environmental obligations, either in national or international forums, have been deliberately neglected or omitted in treaties. Cases where compensation is obtained are the exceptions, not the rule, and the absence of a willingness among States to develop principles of SR is yet another reason why judicial enforcement of environmental treaties can prove elusive.
- Lastly, a review of global environmental institutions would not be complete without a reference to two legal institutions: (1) the ICJ, and (2) the International Law Commission (ILC). The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the UN system, and exercises jurisdiction by consent. It has now set up an environmental chamber and demonstrated in its that it possesses the authority to address vexing environmental issues and apply the law to changing situations [ , (Request for an Advisory Opinion by the WHO of Sept. 13) (1993 I.C.J 467 (hereinafter Legality of the Use of Nuclear Weapons)]. The ILC was created by the UN General Assembly to work toward the codification and development of international law, and it has reported on subjects of great importance to IEL, such as State responsibility (SR) and international watercourses.
- NGOs have become established actors in the implementation of environmental law for a number of reasons. To begin, they are closer to the people affected by environmental degradation, and thus may have the ability to represent them more faithfully and diligently than their governments. Second, NGOs have played a major role in organizing the once invisible colleges of scientists for the purpose of studying the effects of various environmental problems, and have participated, unofficially but visibly, in the making of treaties. Not surprisingly, NGOs profess a legitimate and well-founded interest in the implementation of IEL. Third, the international character of NGOs embraces the concept of a global civil society committed to environmental protection, and their large and vocal membership have given them undeniable international political standing.
- A number of international organizations created by treaty or agreement have been brought into a familial relationship with the UN pursuant to Charter provisions. These are known as Specialized Agencies of the UN. They enjoy juridical personality and may exercise rights and duties as subjects of international law. A number of them have broadly interpreted their constituent treaties to adopt an environmental competence. Those presently assuming environmental responsibilities include the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO); the International Labor Organization (ILO); the World Health Organization (WHO); the World Meteorological Organization (WMO); the International Maritime Organization (IMO); and the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- At the normative level, the implementation of treaty obligations is hampered by the fact that the vertical command and control power structure governing domestic politics within States is conspicuously absent within the international legal order. In international society, power or authority rests on a horizontal base made up of co-equal sovereign States, and can be built into a pyramidal structure only if these States consent to and join in such an endeavor. While piecemeal building upon the base has resulted in the substantial corpus of international environmental law (IEL) ( Ch. 1), there is no overarching pyramid of authority consisting of law-making, law-interpreting, law-implementing, or law-enforcing institutions in IEL.
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Title Page 2 results
Outline 62 results (showing 5 best matches)
- H.The Relation Between International Environmental Law (IEL) and Domestic Law
- Chapter One. Sources and Forms of International Environmental Law
- Chapter Two. International Environmental Law: The Historical Continuum
- Chapter Eighteen. The Future of International Environmental Law (IEL)
- E.The Actors in International Environmental Law (IEL)
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Chapter Eighteen. The Future of International Environmental Law (IEL) 46 results (showing 5 best matches)
- We have seen how an expanding international environmental law (IEL) patrols an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world. It is a world in which practitioners and judges, at many levels of international and national law, are coming alive to the impact and import of IEL. Not surprisingly, IEL is now an established subject, firmly ensconced in the law school curriculum, and is addressed by a burgeoning scholarly literature.
- Hersch Lauterpacht authenticated the extent to which international law is molded by domestic sources, analogies, and experience [
- THE ACTORS IN INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (IEL)
- On the other hand, environmental litigation in national courts is proliferating, and it makes sense to use national courts to advance international remedies. The Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses (Convention on International Watercourses) ( Ch. 3) recognizes the importance of national remedies in a curiously named Article on “Non-discrimination” [Convention on International Watercourses at art. 32]. The Non-discrimination Article prohibits States from discriminating on the basis of nationality or residence in granting judicial remedies to any natural or juridical person who has suffered appreciable harm. Although this principle has not been accepted by States, either by enacting national legislation or agreeing to an international treaty, the fact that it has received some acceptance in the Rio Declaration and Agenda 21 is evidence of an evolving “soft” law. As we have seen, the Convention on the Protection of the Environment between...
- At the international level, the assumption of common responsibility for climate change by developing countries may point to the development of an environmental common law of humankind. This may also be the case on a comparative level. A review of the environmental laws of various nations that make up the international community reveals the extent to which environmental problems—whether arising from air and water pollution, land use, or exploitation—are omnipresent. Uniform biophysical reactions caused by pollution are part of nature’s writ, and the laws of nature, which ignore geophysical boundaries, give rise to identical challenges and common reactions in different parts of the world. If, for example, the receiving medium is
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Table of Acronyms 33 results (showing 5 best matches)
Chapter Two. International Environmental Law: The Historical Continuum 46 results (showing 5 best matches)
- The present form and substance of International Environmental Law (IEL) did not serendipitously arrive in full bloom. Instead it developed over a period of years, and was substantially framed by the evolution of sustainable development (SD). This chapter will examine how IEL and SD were shaped by historical landmarks and socio-political events.
- Negotiations about the law of the sea had commenced even before the Stockholm Conference. Those negotiations lasted until 1982, when UNCLOS was opened for signature. UNCLOS finally came into force on November 16, 1994. It is the strongest comprehensive environmental treaty now in existence or likely to emerge for quite some time [Letter of Submittal of the Secretary of State to the President of the United States, Sept. 23, 1994. reprinted in
- The MDGs were adopted and implemented by governments and international inter-governmental organizations. The ODA is an international fund set up under the auspices of the OECD to provide the aid necessary to meet the MDGs. But there are numerous groups outside the government sector that have adopted and worked toward achieving antipoverty objectives similar to the MDGs. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), like the Gates Foundation, mentioned above, are one among many civil society groups. They are many other nonprofit associations operating independently of government, working toward worthy social or political objectives. They may provide humanitarian relief and development assistance, like the International Committee of the Red Cross [International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), (last visited Apr. 2017)], OXFAM International [OXFAM International,
- UNCLOS contains at least 59 environmental provisions, ranging from the global to the specific, spread out over several parts of the text including: The Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone (Part II), Exclusive Economic Zone (Part V), High Seas (Part VII), Enclosed or Semi-Enclosed Areas (Part IX), The Area (Part XI), Protection and Preservation of the Marine Environment (Part XII), and Marine Scientific Research (Part XIII). The environmental provisions deal with: the conservation and management of living resources; pollution prevention, reduction, and control; vessel pollution; and environmental management. As an umbrella convention, UNCLOS brings other international rules, regulations, and implementing bodies within its canopy. At the substantive level of obligation and implementation, many of its provisions are of a constitutional or general character and must be augmented and supplemented by specific regulations, rules, and implementing procedures formulated by other
- However, for a number of other reasons, the Stockholm Declaration may also be considered the cocoon of SD. First, the biosphere, or the planet, was identified as a subject and placed on the agenda of national and international policy and law in a way that had never been done before. Second, the Stockholm Conference was widely attended, with 114 of the then 131 UN members participating (the Soviet bloc abstained from attending, not because it rejected the purpose or mission of the conference, but because of the status accorded to East Germany). Third, the Stockholm Conference resulted in the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) the first international organization with an exclusively environmental mandate. Fourth, it produced the Stockholm Declaration, which sought to strike a balance between economic and social development and the
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Chapter Five. Biodiversity 38 results (showing 5 best matches)
- The primary goal of biodiversity conservation is to meet human needs for the variety of services provided by biological resources while ensuring that those resources last indefinitely. Earlier treaty regimes attempted to deal with biodiversity loss as a self-contained problem. However, subsequent geo-political developments demanded a different approach governed by two systemic principles that have become a foundational part of modern international environmental law (IEL). As we shall see, remedial actions need to be based within the global frameworks of (1) equity and resource transfers, and (2) sustainable development (SD). International equity demands that the endemic problems of global poverty must constitute the bedrock of any discussion of other global predicaments, such as environmental protection. SD, endorsed by the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as Earth Summit, generally allows for the use and exploitation of resources subject to
- The Convention on Biological Diversity: An Explanatory Guide, IUCN Environmental Law Centre/Draft Text
- In addition to the above international environmental treaties, a number of regional agreements have emerged over the years. These include a cluster of treaties protecting the Antarctic ( Feb. 11, 1972 (entered into force Mar. 11, 1978), 11 I.L.M. 251 (hereinafter CCAS)]; and the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (1991 Antarctic Environmental Protocol) [
- As we shall see, the international community has already created a number of international and regional treaties on specific subjects concerning biodiversity. Significantly, however, the Biodiversity Convention would trump all other treaties, including the World Trade Organization (WTO), formerly the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), where the exercise of rights and obligations under those treaties “would cause serious damage or a threat to biological diversity” [Biodiversity Convention at art. 22(1)]. The one exception to this is in regard to the marine environment, in which the rights and obligations of the Biodiversity Convention may not conflict with those created by UNCLOS. Thus, in effect, we now have two dominant environmental treaties dealing with biodiversity: the Biodiversity Convention for terrestrial biodiversity and UNCLOS for marine biodiversity.
- Trade has greatly contributed to the decline of wild species that possess some commercial viability, including the high profile mammals of Africa. The 1973 CITES convention, one of the largest international environmental treaties in the world boasting 183 parties as of this writing, attempts to protect endangered plant and animal species through restrictions on international trade. Ratified by most States involved in this type of commerce, CITES creates a number of bureaucratic hurdles that prevent particularly harmful exchanges and establishes a paper trail for all allowable trade in protected species. Any trade without proper documentation is considered illegal under the treaty.
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Chapter Eight. Antarctica 41 results (showing 5 best matches)
- The 1991 Antarctic Environmental Protocol makes environmental impact assessment an integral part of each party’s obligation to protect the ecosystem, subjecting all relevant activities to the assessment procedures set out in Annex I [1991 Antarctic Environmental Protocol at art. 8]. Though the procedures themselves are fairly detailed, the parties conduct the evaluations without international oversight. If an activity is determined to have “less than a minor or transitory impact,” then no further assessment need take place, and the activity may proceed [
- Other substantive provisions include the establishment of contingency plans in response to environmental emergencies [ at art. 17]. In this regard, the 1991 Antarctic Environmental Protocol creates no international authority to verify and enforce compliance, instead relying on the adoption of national measures by the individual parties. It does, however, create a Committee for Environmental Protection, the primary function of which is “to provide advice and formulate recommendations” to the ATCM on the specific operations of the protocol [ at arts. 11–12]. In general, the Committee for Environmental Protection must oversee, though not verify or enforce, the more detailed substantive requirements found in the protocol’s annexes.
- The current international legal effort to prohibit oil and mineral exploration in Antarctica commenced almost 60 years ago. It sprang from the recognition that most drilling would occur on the continental shelf, in the very heart of Antarctica’s biological productivity, and that an accident—made more likely by Antarctica’s harsh climate—would have a disastrous effect on most Antarctic ecosystems [Frank G. Klotz, dedicated Antarctica to scientific research and peaceful purposes. The principle has since been re-expressed in subsequent agreements. The 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (1991 Antarctic Environmental Protocol) and various earlier conventions have committed the parties to a more comprehensive protection of the entire Antarctic environment.
- As CRAMRA’s prospects faded, and amid growing fears that Antarctica faced imminent environmental degradation, the Antarctic Treaty consultative parties chose to create an environmental protocol to the Antarctic Treaty. Broad and ambitious in scope, the 1991 Antarctic Environmental Protocol incorporates a number of progressive environmental ideals and principles, and currently has 37 parties. Most significantly, the 1991 Antarctic Environmental Protocol establishes Antarctica as a “natural reserve, devoted to peace and science” and commits the parties “to the comprehensive protection of the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated ecosystems” [1991 Antarctic Environmental Protocol at art. 2].
- Alternatively, if the party cannot make such a determination, then it must prepare an Initial Environmental Evaluation. Again, the purpose of the Initial Environmental Evaluation, which includes a consideration of alternatives and impacts, is to assess whether the activity will have “less than a minor or transitory impact” [ at Annex I, art. 2]. If the Initial Environmental Evaluation suggests the activity may have more than minor repercussions, the party must then prepare a much more extensive draft Comprehensive Environmental Evaluation. The draft Comprehensive Environmental Evaluation must contain very thorough investigations and conclusions about the possible impacts through the entire duration of the activity and beyond [
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Chapter Fifteen. Transboundary Water Pollution 65 results (showing 5 best matches)
- The development of the law since in 1997. After protracted litigation, both parties were ordered by the ICJ to undertake good faith negotiations consistent with both international environmental norms (e.g. sustainable development (SD)) and the law of international watercourses to come up with a new management scheme in the context of the
- In 1992, the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) codified basic regional rules for the protection and use of transboundary watercourses. The UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (ECE Convention) incorporates much of the customary law discussed above, while further developing the law by affirming the precautionary principle, the polluter pays principle, and environmental impact assessments [
- We have observed in Chapters 9 and 10 that remedial measures should endeavor to reduce waste generation by addressing consumption demands. In order to achieve such a goal, the control of water pollution should become part of a more comprehensive attempt to integrate pollution control of atmospheric, terrestrial, and aquatic pollution. Without losing sight of this more comprehensive goal, remedial measures also need to address the more immediate problems posed by transboundary river pollution. These problems, which, as we shall see, have been considered by the International Law Commission (ILC), arise from the disputed rights and duties pertaining to the quality and quantity of water claimed by upper and lower riparian owners of international rivers. Furthermore, water pollution, not unlike other areas of international environmental law (IEL), primarily requires an
- , the ICJ confirmed, inter alia, (a) that multipurpose river basin development treaties may establish a continuing (and environmentally sensitive) management regime that cannot be unilaterally abrogated, (b) that SD and ecological risk assessment are customary rules of international environmental and water law, and (c) that these customary rules can apply to treaties negotiated prior to the recognition of these emerging norms.
- One might also notice the dearth of environmental factors in the list of factors relevant to equitable and reasonable utilization. This lack is presumably balanced by the duty not to cause transboundary harm [ at art. 21(2)]. The limited voice given to environmental factors in ascertaining equitable utilization, however, does show the continuing tension between development and environmental protection—a tension the Convention on International Watercourses can only attempt to broker and not to resolve.
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Chapter Ten. Land-Based Pollution 23 results (showing 5 best matches)
- International Environmental Law and World Order
- Principles of International Environmental Law, Third Edition
- The OSPAR Convention also calls for the use of best available techniques, best environmental practices, and “clean” technology in the implementation of programs and measures aimed at at art. 3]. To determine what constitutes best available technique and best environmental practices in a specific circumstance, the OSPAR Convention establishes a Commission that must first look to the guidelines provided in Appendix 1, with best available technique as state of the art technology and best environmental practices as the most appropriate mix of measures and strategies taking environmental, social, and economic factors into account [
- Eighty percent of all oceanic pollution comes from land-based sources. Pollutants generated on land travel through numerous environmental pathways, such as the atmosphere, rivers, canals, underground watercourses, and outfalls, before eventually finding their way to the ocean. Urban expansion into coastal areas has also exacerbated the problem of land-based marine pollution. Half the world’s population lives within 100 kilometers (km) of the ocean, and three-quarters of all large cities are located on the coast [United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) & (Sept 2005)]. Land-based pollution looms as problematic because urban growth has diverged from principles of sustainable development (SD), and because environmental protection has been ignored or minimized by economic growth.
- ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
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Chapter Fourteen. Transboundary Air Pollution 23 results (showing 5 best matches)
- States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental and developmental policies, and the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction [Rio Declaration at Principle 2].
- and NOx pollution, producing acid rain that eroded forests and created toxic lakes. The detrimental effects occurred primarily in the Northeast and Upper Midwest, but also crossed national boundaries into Canada. However, as a result of both technological improvements and international environmental law (IEL) agreements, which will be discussed below, emissions have decreased dramatically in the U.S. in recent years. The national composite average of SO annual mean ambient concentrations has decreased 85% between 1980 and 2012 [United States Environmental Protection
- has evolved into a well-accepted rule of customary IEL—restated in myriad international, regional, and bilateral agreements. Taking into account the sovereign right to development, one State may not cause significant transboundary environmental harm to another [
- The prohibition against transboundary environmental harm, including air pollution, has evolved into a well-accepted rule of customary IEL. In some instances, this rule has been incorporated into regional treaties that provide specific emissions reduction goals as well as enforcement mechanisms. In general, the international regime on transboundary air pollution remains an incomplete patchwork of regional agreements. In practice, these agreements have resulted in significant reductions in emissions—particularly SO
- Transboundary air pollution was recognized quite early as an international pollution problem. For example, the facts of the well-known transpired in the 1920s and 30s. The principles derived from that case have become the bedrock of customary transboundary pollution law, although the arbitration itself, and the applicable law, was governed by an international agreement between Canada and the U.S.
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Chapter Thirteen. Conservation of Marine Living Resources 42 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Locally, some States have taken individual initiative in protecting their reefs: Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Marine Park divides the 350,000 square km of reef into use zones. General zones prohibit only spearfishing, mining, and oil drilling; national park zones, mostly for divers, have a “look but don’t touch” policy; and restricted zones are for scientific research only. Internationally, the U.S. spearheaded an initiative for coral reef protection in 1994, with Australia, France, Japan, Jamaica, the Philippines, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (UK) as partners. Together, these States launched the International Coral Reef Initiative, whose key principle is international action with local backing and the coordination of research efforts. While these efforts are not legal measures, it is important for the student of international environmental law (IEL) to understand the differing paradigms that exist in the international decision space.
- As of 2017, 168 parties have ratified UNCLOS. In June 2006, the Seventh UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea met to discuss “ecosystem approaches and oceans” [ABA Year in Review,
- The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) has also responded to this challenge by initiating the beginnings of such a comprehensive regime. UNCLOS focuses on the protection of marine living resources as an intrinsic component of the oceanic environment, and contains a number of necessary, general obligations dealing with the protection of different marine resources. The comprehensive approach of UNCLOS to the oceans, which deals, inter alia, with land-based pollution, sets the stage for further coordination between UNCLOS and the Biodiversity Convention—as well as international legal regimes whose topical focus and substantive commitments are not that of environmental protection, such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade/World Trade Organization (GATT/WTO) [
- The present impasse reflects the political vulnerability of some international environmental institutions. Anti-whaling States, who so importantly voted the moratorium into place in 1982, now find it politically impossible to reverse their position—even when confronted with strong scientific evidence. Of course these States may simply want to ban whaling altogether for a variety of valuable reasons, including moral and aesthetic ones. Nevertheless, the IWC remains committed to conservation , and the international community remains committed to SD under Agenda 21. This case is a high profile example of the potential conflict between preservation on the one hand, and sustainable use on the other.
- International Environmental Law and World Order
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Chapter Four. Population 29 results (showing 5 best matches)
- the Vatican, recognize the environmental dangers of burgeoning populations. There is international consensus, falling short of unanimity, that coercion should be eschewed as a method of family planning [ICPD Programme of Action at ¶ 7(3)]. However, upon closer examination, a number of entrenched reasons exist to block the creation of an international population regime. For example, the Catholic Church advocates population control only through “natural family planning” [Gregory M. Saylin,
- The above theories and corresponding practical problems jostle for recognition within the international framework of SD. The approach fashioned and proclaimed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as Earth Summit, and the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) started a path towards integrating economic development, social development, and environmental protection without compromising the needs of present and future generations (
- As distinct from the neo-Malthusians and developmentalists, redistributionists blame the problems of unsustainable growth and environmental depletion on the inequities of consumption and unequal distribution of rights among the States and peoples of the world [Cassen, et al. ]. This group also believes in SD, but maintains that the major cause of environmental depletion lies in a consumption explosion by the industrialized world, rather than a population explosion in the developing world. This is illustrated by the fact that 15% of the world’s population enjoys 80% of the world’s income. To redistributionists, the problem is poverty rather than scarcity; and poverty is seen as “intimately related” to inequality [United Nations Development Program,
- While there have been significant areas of improvement in global environmental quality during the past decades, this progress has been countervailed by conspicuous deterioration in other areas. Some experts believe that population growth is the major cause of such environmental deterioration [Paul Ehrlich & Anne Ehrlich, (1981) at 74]. Others believe that the most powerful factor in determining environmental quality is the technology used to produce goods and services, and that any chosen technology may cause either environmental degradation or improvement [Barry Commoner,
- Even over the short term, it can be very difficult to predict rates of economic growth and technological change. Economic forecasts carefully developed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) extend no more than a few years into the future and are often subject to a high degree of uncertainty [Population 2030
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Chapter Nine. Toxic and Hazardous Substances 54 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Dec. 15, 1989 (entered into force Sept. 1, 1991), 29 I.L.M. 783 (hereinafter Lome Convention)], which prohibits exports of hazardous waste to African, Caribbean, and Pacific State parties from the European Union (EU). While the prohibitions on exports or imports of wastes express valuable, if controversial, aspects of international environmental law (IEL), it is well settled that the requirement of PIC codifies existing customary law (
- The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) adopted the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) on June 25, 1998, and the Convention entered into force on October 30, 2001. As of July 2016 there are 47 parties to the Convention, which aims to improve public access to environmental information. The Aarhus Convention provides a forum for developing protocols to strengthen democratic interactions between the public and public authorities. It also addresses processes for public participation in the negotiation and implementation of international agreements [
- The Stockholm POPs Convention also calls for “best available techniques” and “best environmental practices” for dealing with chemicals in Annex C [ . at art. 5(d)]. “Best available techniques” is not meant to be any specific technique or technology, but rather is aimed at the consideration of the technical characteristics, its geographical location, and the local environmental condition of the installation [ . at Annex C pt. V(B)]. “Best environmental practices” is defined as “the application of the most appropriate combination of environmental control measures and strategies” [
- Under the FAO Code, governments retain ultimate responsibility for the distribution and use of pesticides in their States, but the pesticide industry—including manufacturers, marketers, and traders—also plays a significant role. Indeed, the revised FAO Code reflects more strongly than ever the responsibility of governments, the chemical and food industry, traders, pesticide users, public interest groups, and international organizations in reducing the health and environmental risks associated with pesticide use. The FAO Code also addresses the need for a cooperative effort between governments of pesticide exporting and importing States [
- In 1998, the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade
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Chapter Twelve. Dumping 16 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Principles of International Environmental Law, Third Edition
- As we have noted in Chapter 9, dumping is a symptom of the malaise of ever-spiraling wastes. Remedial objectives, generally, have largely failed to deal with the root source of toxic wastes, which lies in human demand for products that can only be met by generating such wastes. Moreover, the international environmental community has failed to adopt a truly integrated approach to waste disposal and pollution control.
- . In effect, the amendment creates a basis under international environmental law (IEL) to regulate carbon capture and storage in sub-seabed geological formations for permanent isolation, as part of a suite of measures to tackle the challenge of climate change (
- Finally, the London Protocol requires the permitting authority to conduct an assessment of the potential effects each disposal option could have on human health, its environmental costs, hazards, economics, and exclude the possibility of future uses of the waste, and issue or deny a permit based on that assessment [ at Annex 2(12)–(13)]. Extensive monitoring provisions are also incorporated to ensure compliance with the authority’s guidelines and to verify that the environmental and health costs projected in the assessment were correct [
- The 1972 London Convention is the primary vehicle for international regulation of dumping. As of 2017, 89 States have signed and ratified the treaty. With almost half of the world’s States as parties to the London Convention, including nearly all of the largest waste-producing States, the treaty represents a significant step in the international regulation of dumping.
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Chapter Seven. Ozone Depletion 12 results (showing 5 best matches)
- The legal response to the problem of ozone depletion remains one of the most striking achievements of international environmental law (IEL). A number of factors contributed to this success: (1) a growing scientific consensus concerning the threat posed to the ozone layer by the release of anthropogenic ozone-depleting substances into the atmosphere; (2) the role played by bellweather States like the U.S., which began controlling CFCs well prior to the start of negotiations for the Vienna Ozone Convention; (3) the existence of a relatively small number of producing nations whose industries, after limited objections, eventually backed international controls; (4) incentives for industry experts and other private parties to participate in technology assessments and policy recommendations, thus enabling greater effectiveness through increased compliance; and (5) the development of innovative institutional mechanisms that have attracted reluctant parties and have allowed for more flexible...
- ]. The manner in which the Amendments and Adjustments have been used to advance ozone reduction is quite unique. These legal techniques have allowed adjustments and amendments to avoid the convoluted and often risk fraught path of traditional treaty making and amendments. They point the way to future international environmental law-making.
- The international ozone regime reflects the framework approach, or convention-protocol approach, to international law-making (
- ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
- A look at the difference between adjustments and amendments provides a window into the dynamic institutional machinery of the ozone regime. While the MOP may pass an amendment by a two-thirds majority, these amendments may not bind a party against its will [Vienna Ozone Convention at art. 9(3)–(4)]. Instead, following the traditional rule of consent in international law, each party must sign on to and ratify each amendment before becoming obligated [
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Chapter Sixteen. Desertification 15 results (showing 5 best matches)
- While requiring cooperation and coordination at the sub-regional, regional, and international levels, the UNCCD also establishes a strong mandate to involve local communities both in the decision-making and implementation processes. This dedication to a “bottom-up” approach reflects a growing consensus that only a decentralized strategy will work to control environmental degradation, a strategy that includes and rewards local people.
- As with all international environmental regimes, the success of the UNCCD also rides on tangible contributions from the wealthier parties. In a recent review, it was found that the degree of progress made differs from State to State. For example, while most African parties have finalized their NAPs to combat desertification and are starting to implement them, the lack of adequate and predictable funding is an obstacle to implementation.
- Desertification raises questions common to other international environmental problems, and thus must be addressed within the conceptual framework of sustainable development (SD). In 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as Earth Summit, adopted Agenda 21, a program for SD that recommended preventive measures for threatened or slightly degraded drylands, and rehabilitative measures for moderately or severely degraded drylands. Recommended activities included improved land- and water-use policies, improved agricultural and ranching technologies, soil and water conservation to restore and sustain productivity, reforestation, protection of special ecological areas, and development of alternative
- Integration of activities directly related to desertification into other environmental and SD strategies is meant to maximize the output and benefit for affected State parties. Therefore, action at the local level should combine the fight against desertification with efforts to alleviate rural poverty [
- “to forge a global partnership to reverse and prevent desertification/land degradation and to mitigate the effects of drought in affected areas in order to support poverty reduction and environmental sustainability” [United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD),
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Table of Treatise and Other Selected Instruments 32 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (Convention on International Watercourses), 21 May 1997 (entered into force 17 Aug. 2014), 36 I.L.M. 700
- Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (1991 Antarctic Environmental Protocol), Oct. 4, 1991 (entered into force Jan. 15, 1998), 30 I.L.M. 1461
- International Maritime Organization Protocol of 1992 to amend the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution damage of 18 December 1971 (Protocol to the Fund Convention), Nov. 27, 1992, AST 1996 No. 3
- International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage (Fund Convention), Dec. 18, 1971 (entered into force Oct. 16, 1978), 1971 U.N. Jur. Y.B. 103
- Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention), Jun. 25 1998, 38 I.L.M. 517
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Chapter Six. Global Climate Change 32 results (showing 5 best matches)
- , Review of European, Comparative, and International Environmental Law (Mar. 22, 2016)].
- The analysis of the Paris Agreement will generally follow the rubrics used in examining the UNFCCC. We will begin by answering questions pertaining to the legal status of the Paris Agreement, and specifically whether it is a treaty under international law.
- It is important to clarify in this context that a treaty under international law does not consist only of binding provisions that create obligations of effect. This means that not all provisions of a treaty create legal rights or duties that call for implementation, or application. Some may do so, while others do not.
- The Vienna Convention defines a treaty as “an international agreement concluded between States in written form and governed by international law . . .” [Vienna Convention at art. 2(1)(a)]. Conspicuously, the Vienna Convention does not define a treaty as writing containing substantive, legally binding rules or principles. What controls its treaty status is not its substantive content, but the fixed verbal form of a written agreement between States, demonstrating an intention to create legal relationships under international law. The argument of some commentators that the Paris Convention is not a treaty because it lacks legally binding emissions reduction duties [
- There is no doubt that the Paris Agreement is a treaty under international law. It was negotiated as a treaty in the manner and form required by the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (Vienna Convention). It was adopted by consensus on December 12, 2015, was opened for signature on April 22, 2016, received the ratifications required, and entered into force on November 4, 2016 [United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),
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WEST ACADEMIC PUBLISHING’S LAW SCHOOL ADVISORY BOARD 10 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Distinguished University Professor, Frank R. Strong Chair in LawMichael E. Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University
- Professor of Law Emeritus, University of San Diego Professor of Law Emeritus, University of Michigan
- Professor of Law, Chancellor and Dean Emeritus, University of California, Hastings College of the Law
- Professor of Law, Yale Law School
- Professor of Law, Pepperdine University Professor of Law Emeritus, University of California, Los Angeles
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Acknowledgments 2 results
- The University of Colorado Law School is hugely enriched by our Research Librarian, Jane Thompson. We are most grateful to her for the generous and abundant help she provided this project.
- Finally, we are grateful for the summer research grants made available to Lakshman Guruswamy by the University of Colorado, Law School.
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- Publication Date: June 22nd, 2017
- ISBN: 9781683280965
- Subject: International - Environmental
- Series: Nutshells
- Type: Overviews
- Description: This well received book, informed by its interdisciplinary framework, succinctly yet accurately traverses and illuminates the full gamut of international environmental issues, laws and policies challenging the world today. The fifth edition responds to important developments arising subsequent to the fourth edition, relating, inter alia, to sustainable development, climate change, and energy. These developments include the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of 2015, the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change that replaced the Kyoto Protocol, and the challenges posed by renewable energy and global poverty. In sum, the book offers an insightful analysis of the relevant treaties, customary law, and soft law instruments governing all areas of international environmental law.