Fragmentation of Science, International Environmental Law, and International Institutions

Environmental Law ◽

Central Issue ◽

International Governance ◽

International Level ◽

Environmental Standards ◽

Environmental Process

This article is about a problem only just becoming visible: the legitimacy of international environmental law, and more specifically, the perception that the international environmental process is insufficiently democratic. Until now, international lawyers have tended to focus on what environmental standards are needed and how those standards can be made effective. But as decision-making authority gravitates from the national to the international level, the question of legitimacy will likely emerge from the shadows and become a central issue in international environmental law. This article seeks to clarify the nature of the legitimacy challenge and to survey possible sources of legitimacy for international institutions.

International Environmental Law

The Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199552153.013.0001 ◽

2008 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Daniel Bodansky ◽

Jutta Brunnée ◽

Ellen Hey

Keyword(s):

Environmental Law ◽

Environmental Issues ◽

Hazardous Materials ◽

Distinctive Features ◽

Normative Development ◽

Key Concepts ◽

International Environmental Problems ◽

Analytical Tools

As far as specialisation is concerned, international environmental law has come a long way from its origins in the application of broad principles derived from state sovereignty to environmental issues. Not only has the number of specialised environmental instruments and institutions grown to the point where some commentators have warned of treaty congestion, but sub-specialties have also developed within many of these regimes. This book takes stock of international environmental law and examines its overarching features. It includes chapters surveying the main issue areas: air, water, biological resources, and hazardous materials. The book analyses the field in more conceptual terms, focusing on issues of structure and process rather than on issues of content. Important topics include: legal design, analytical tools, normative development, key concepts, actors and institutions (states, international institutions, non-state actors), and implementation and enforcement. In particular, it discusses some distinctive features of international environmental problems, the state-centric approach to international environmental law, anthropocentrism and environmental protection, and compliance.

The Dynamic Evolution of International Environmental Law

Victoria University of Wellington Law Review ◽

10.26686/vuwlr.v49i4.5343 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 49 (4) ◽

pp. 607

Author(s):

Karen N Scott

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

21St Century ◽

Environmental Law ◽

Dynamic Evolution ◽

State Responsibility ◽

Environmental Agreements ◽

Multilateral Environmental Agreements ◽

International Legal System

This article will explore selected innovations within multilateral environmental agreements that have contributed to the dynamic evolution of international environmental law within the context of the traditional rules relating to treaties, international institutions and state responsibility. It will argue that whilst these innovations undoubtedly push and develop the boundaries of these areas of law, they do not represent a significant departure from the traditional principle of consent that underpins international law more generally. But should they? The period of modern international environmental law (from 1972 to date), which from a lawyer's perspective might be described as dynamic and innovative, has simultaneously witnessed significant and persistent environmental change and degradation across the biosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere. The question for 21st century environmental lawyers is whether international environmental law is fit for the Anthropocene and whether there is sufficient scope for future dynamic evolution within the constraints and structures of the existing international legal system.

Part VI Actors, Ch.36 International Institutions

10.1093/law/9780198849155.003.0036 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Hey Ellen

Keyword(s):

Financial Institutions ◽

Environmental Law ◽

Environmental Agreements ◽

Multilateral Environmental Agreements ◽

Normative Development ◽

Governmental Organizations ◽

Non Governmental Organizations ◽

Rules And Standards

This chapter maps the different roles of international institutions involved in the development of international environmental law by considering the initiating roles that some institutions play, the institutional structure of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), and the roles of scientific and financial institutions. It charts how MEAs link to each other substantively by focusing on the relationships between global and regional MEAs and the synergies and contestations between global MEAs. These mapping processes result in the identification of patterns that illustrate the different roles and types of links that exist between international institutions. International institutions, together with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), engage in two types of activities in developing international environmental law. First, they engage in normative development. That is the development of rules and standards that are to regulate human activity. Second, they engage in implementing these rules and standards.