Part I Context, Ch.5 Fragmentation

Investment Protection ◽

Environmental Institutions ◽

International Adjudication ◽

Fragmentation Of International Law ◽

Law Making

This chapter examines fragmentation within the field of international environmental law. There is long-standing scholarly engagement with the fragmentation of international law into largely self-contained ‘regimes’ such as trade, investment, the law of the sea, and human rights. Such regimes are of fundamental importance to the governance of environmental matters. Multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) covering specific issues and sectors now number in the hundreds, and at times their aims and methods may be in opposition, while gaps remain especially in implementation. The chapter begins with a discussion of the functional conception of law-making within ‘regimes’, which has origins in both international relations and international law, and argues that the governance of environmental matters does not always (or even most often) happen in the context of environmental treaties and environmental institutions but also within norms and institutions that are constituted to pursue other functions, such as trade liberalization or investment protection. It then considers how international adjudication and the proliferation of international courts and tribunals have special salience for environmental matters. The chapter also looks at coordinating initiatives, including the proposal for a Global Pact for the Environment.

Equity

The Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199552153.013.0027 ◽

2008 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Shelton Dinah

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

Environmental Law ◽

Generational Equity ◽

Perceptions Of Fairness ◽

Sovereign Equality ◽

Potential Impact

If perceptions of fairness or equity affect the level of participation and positive action among heterogeneous states, then they are likely to factor in the long-term success of an environmental regime or agreement. This article assesses the potential impact of equity on international environmental law. First, it examines the various meanings attributed to the term ‘equity’ in international law in general, and in international environmental law in particular; the roles equity has played in multilateral environmental agreements; and how different equitable principles are, or may be, implemented in practice. The article then discusses intra-generational equity and inter-generational equity, sovereign equality and equity, distributive justice in international law, principles for determining equitable allocation, and different ways of implementing principles of equity (substantive rules of equity, procedural rules).

Part VIII Compliance, Implementation, and Effectiveness, Ch.52 Transparency Procedures

10.1093/law/9780198849155.003.0052 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sparks Tom ◽

Peters Anne

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

Environmental Law ◽

Multilateral Environmental Agreements

This chapter explores how information obligations on states—to collect, report, or publish—are an important aspect of most modern multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). These have developed both alongside and as part of a wider ‘turn to transparency’ in international law, resulting in traditional forms of reporting, monitoring, and verification being incorporated into a more extensive set of transparency relationships. The chapter examines transparency as an increasingly important aspect of international environmental law, both as an end in itself and as a means of achieving other substantive goals. It frames transparency in international environmental law within the wider transparency turn. The chapter then looks at the techniques that are employed in customary and conventional environmental law to realize transparency, focusing on the compliance-centred, emancipatory, and advocative functions it performs.

Enforcement Mechanisms in International Law and International Environmental Law

elni Review ◽

10.46850/elni.2005.001 ◽

2005 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

Jutta Brunnée

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

Environmental Law ◽

Theoretical Assumptions ◽

Legal Sanctions ◽

Key Features ◽

Enforcement Mechanisms ◽

Common Misconceptions

This essay aims to launch the proceedings of international law on a high note, and to suggest that many common impressions of it are wrong in general, and particularly wrong in the context of international environmental law. Even more particularly, multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) illustrate the maturation and sophistication of international environmental law. If anything, the diversity and flexibility of compliance approaches under MEAs highlight the limited purchase of simple dichotomies such as “binding vs. non-binding” or “enforcement vs. ineffectiveness”. The essay begins by exploring the concept of “enforcement” in international law in general. It suggests that a concept of enforcement as imposition of legal sanctions, or penalties, is unduly narrow. The essay then canvasses some of the main theoretical assumptions about international law and compliance. An exploration of this theoretical context illuminates the reasons underlying common misconceptions about international law and its enforcement, and helps put in perspective the evolution of approaches to compliance in international environmental law. Finally, against the backdrop of these general considerations, the author examines key features of the approaches to compliance and enforcement in international environmental law and MEAs. The aim is to provide a ‘bigger picture’, a context for the detailed discussions of compliance mechanisms that make up the bulk of the conference proceedings.

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 ◽

International Institutions ◽

Environmental Law ◽

Dynamic Evolution ◽

State Responsibility ◽

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.

Legitimacy

The Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199552153.013.0030 ◽

2008 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Daniel Bodansky

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

Political Theory ◽

Environmental Law ◽

World Trade Organisation ◽

Precise Meaning ◽

Environmental Institutions ◽

The World ◽

Commercial Whaling

Compared to ‘illegitimacy’, ‘legitimacy’ has a more precise meaning in political theory and sociology, focusing on the justification and acceptance of political authority – the authority of the International Whaling Commission to ban commercial whaling, for example, or of the World Trade Organisation to review measures adopted pursuant to environmental agreements. A legitimate institution is one that has a right to govern – for example, based on tradition, expertise, legality, or public accountability – rather than one relying on the mere exercise of power. In recent years, legitimacy has begun to emerge as an issue not only in international law generally but also in international environmental law more specifically. This article deals with the issue of legitimacy. It first looks at the concept of legitimacy and then presents a typology of legitimacy theories, why legitimacy is a growing issue in international environmental law, and alternative bases of legitimacy, focusing on democracy, participation and transparency, and expertise and effectiveness. The article concludes by considering how to develop trust in international environmental institutions.

Die Staatenhaftung im Völkerrecht

10.5771/9783748912286 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sahar Moradi Karkaj

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

Virtual World ◽

Environmental Law ◽

State Responsibility ◽

Investment Protection ◽

Conflict Situations ◽

Information Operations ◽

State Obligations ◽

State Liability ◽

The Relationship

The necessity for state obligations to compensate transboundary harm becomes particularly evident in the virtual world. International law is predestined to address this issue but faces challenges due to the private character of information operations. Against this background, the author analyses the relationship between the established institute of state responsibility for internationally wrongful acts and the concept of state liability for non-prohibited dangerous activities. The contours of state liability are primarily derived from environmental law, WTO law, and investment protection. It is shown that state liability offers solutions to novel conflict situations. The findings can potentially be applied in various liability regimes.

Implementation of International Environmental Law

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197515037.013.28 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Maria Ivanova ◽

Natalia Escobar-Pemberthy ◽

Anna Dubrova ◽

Candace Famiglietti

Keyword(s):

Environmental Law ◽

International Environmental Agreements ◽

National Characteristics ◽

University Of Massachusetts ◽

The University ◽

The Impact ◽

Technical Measures

International environmental law is a key governance instrument for the protection of the environment. Countries take on a range of obligations when they join multilateral environmental agreements. This chapter presents a comparative assessment of the implementation of international environmental law in 13 countries for four agreements dealing with pollution and conservation. It offers an empirical assessment based on the Environmental Conventions Index (ECI) developed at the Center for Governance and Sustainability at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and compares performance across four key categories: regulation, management, information, and technical measures. The analysis establishes a baseline for assessing the implementation of international environmental law and explaining the impact of national characteristics, policies, and actions on the fulfillment and effectiveness of international environmental agreements.

1. The nature of international law and the international legal system

International Law Concentrate ◽

10.1093/he/9780198840978.003.0001 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1-15

Author(s):

Ilias Bantekas ◽

Efthymios Papastavridis

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

Legal System ◽

Vertical Structure ◽

Legal Order ◽

Sovereign Equality ◽

System P ◽

International Legal System ◽

International Adjudication ◽

Peremptory Norms ◽

Law Making

This chapter briefly discusses the nature of the international legal system. The premise is that the structure of the international legal system is fundamentally different from that of national legal order: contrary to the vertical structure encountered in domestic settings, in international law the structure is horizontal. States enjoy sovereign equality, while both international law-making and international adjudication are based on the consent of the States. There are various theories that have attempted to describe the nature of the international law, including naturalism, positivism, formalism, and realism. Also significant is the existence of a certain hierarchy in the international legal system, in the sense that there are some peremptory norms of international law, such as the prohibition of torture and genocide, to which there is no derogation.

1. The nature of international law and the international legal system

International Law Concentrate ◽

10.1093/he/9780198803874.003.0001 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Ilias Bantekas ◽

Efthymios Papastavridis

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

Legal System ◽

Vertical Structure ◽

Legal Order ◽

Sovereign Equality ◽

System P ◽

International Legal System ◽

International Adjudication ◽

Peremptory Norms ◽

Law Making

This chapter briefly discusses the nature of the international legal system. The premise is that the structure of the international legal system is fundamentally different from that of national legal order: contrary to the vertical structure encountered in domestic settings, in international law the structure is horizontal. States enjoy sovereign equality, while both international law-making and international adjudication are based on the consent of the States. There are various theories that have attempted to describe the nature of the international law, including naturalism, positivism, formalism, and realism. Significant is also the existence of a certain hierarchy in the international legal system, in the sense that there are some peremptory norms of international law, such as the prohibition of torture and genocide, to which there is no derogation.

Part III Conceptual Pillars, Ch.22 Good Faith

10.1093/law/9780198849155.003.0022 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Shibata Akiho

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

Good Faith ◽

Environmental Cooperation ◽

International Court Of Justice ◽

International Court ◽

State Practice ◽

Environmental Treaty ◽

Legal Security

This chapter studies the principle of good faith, which has been declared by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as ‘a well-established principle of international law’. Through judicial pronouncements and state practice, it has come to acquire concrete legal content. The principle of good faith is closely linked to the concept of legal security; it provides certainty and foreseeability in society, and as such is fundamental and necessary to any legal system. The chapter examines the role that the principle of good faith could play, first, in general international law relating to the environment, focusing on three broad areas of environmental treaty performance, environmental cooperation, and due diligence. It then considers the more concrete role that the principle of good faith could play within multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) as special legal regimes. Finally, the chapter analyses two concrete contexts within which the principle of good faith could be engaged to perform specific normative functions in the operation of MEAs, namely in non-compliance and ‘pledge and review’ mechanisms.