scholarly journals Trans-frontier Environmental Damage in International Jurisprudence

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 102
Author(s):  
Sayyed Ghasem Zamani ◽  
Mohammadreza Alipour

The enhancement of environmental awareness in both domestic and international level has been accompanied by the growing number of internal authorities and international bodies within which environmentally related disputes can be addressed. Over the years, environmental issues have been discussed by different international judicial courts and arbitration tribunals. Their contribution to enhance the legitimacy of international concerns to the protection of environment is a significant one. They have acted to clarify the international environmental rules within the international legal order and have augmented the ability of domestic legal systems to deal with associated problems more effectively. The international judicial bodies as well as arbitration tribunals have been faced with a rather vague set of rules and principles that made it an enormous task to apply the law to the particular facts of a case in question. Issues relating to the existence, contents and meaning of the certain related concepts took considerable spaces in the contributions of international courts and tribunals in<em> </em>the course of developing international environmental law, particularly the concepts of environmental damage and the liable party to make reparation.<em> </em>International judicial bodies mostly relied on procedural obligations of states and arbitration tribunals on damage itself and the necessity to compensate them. While the damage is mostly confined to significant damage of value-use aspects of the environment, and liable party is focused on the damage causing activities of the operator, the reparation modes are unsteady between only financial compensation and, if possible,<em> </em>near to<em> </em>restitution.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nele Matz-Lück ◽  
Liv Christiansen

The global environmental conferences convened by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) during the last fifty years have contributed to the development of international environmental law and institution-building. Yet, given the deteriorating state of the global environment they are but one element of international environmental governance. While they were important to bring environmental issues to the attention of states, the time for agenda-setting seems over. Rather the international community must move on to the implementation of existing binding and non-binding rules and principles. While the UNGA continues to play an important role in the context of sustainable development and the Agenda 2030 process and is, indeed a stable platform for international cooperation on environmental issues, it seems that the time for comprehensive global environmental conferences may have come to an end, unless more innovative mechanisms for the implementation of international environmental law and policy are brought forward.


Author(s):  
Klein Natalie

This chapter examines how international environmental law (IEL) disputes are resolved before international courts and tribunals, addressing when parties will decide to litigate an IEL dispute as opposed to utilizing another form of dispute settlement. Assuming there is reason to pursue adjudication or arbitration, it looks at questions of jurisdiction. The chapter also considers preliminary matters that emerge in these cases, notably questions of standing and whether provisional measures are needed and may be secured before an international court or tribunal. It then turns to substantive matters, but only in the context of presentation of the case in terms of evidence and use of experts. Finally, the chapter assesses the available reparations in the resolution of IEL disputes before international courts and tribunals. Ultimately, considerable progress may be noted in respect of the use of international courts and tribunals for IEL disputes, but it is prudent to observe that in this area of international law, preventing the emergence of IEL disputes is ultimately more important than ex post facto responses to environmental damage.


Due diligence is a prominent concept in international law. Still, for long, its role seemed to be that of a familiar stranger. Frequent referrals to the concept in arbitral awards, court decisions, and in scholarly discussions mostly on state responsibility hide the fact that the specific normative content and systemic relation of due diligence to rules and principles of international law has largely remained unexplored. The present book provides the first comprehensive analysis of the content, scope, and function of due diligence across various areas of international law, including international environmental law, international peace and security law, and international economic law. Sector by sector, contributors explore the diverse interactions between due diligence and area-specific substantive and procedural rules as well as general principles of international law. The book exposes the promises and limits of due diligence for enhancing accountability and compliance and identifies the rise of due diligence as a signal for change in the international legal order towards risk management and proceduralisation.


2010 ◽  
Vol 92 (879) ◽  
pp. 569-592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Bothe ◽  
Carl Bruch ◽  
Jordan Diamond ◽  
David Jensen

AbstractThere are three key deficiencies in the existing body of international humanitarian law (IHL) relating to protection of the environment during armed conflict. First, the definition of impermissible environmental damage is both too restrictive and unclear; second, there are legal uncertainties regarding the protection of elements of the environment as civilian objects; and third, the application of the principle of proportionality where harm to the environment constitutes ‘collateral damage’ is also problematic. These gaps present specific opportunities for clarifying and developing the existing framework. One approach to addressing some of the inadequacies of IHL could be application of international environmental law during armed conflict. The detailed norms, standards, approaches, and mechanisms found in international environmental law might also help to clarify and extend basic principles of IHL to prevent, address, or assess liability for environmental damage incurred during armed conflict.


2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 127
Author(s):  
Lucas Prabowo

Efforts to meet the economic needs of humans has resulted in severe damage to the ecosystem. Being aware that there is damage to natural resources and ecosystem are getting worse, various efforts underway to hold international conventions in the field of environmental protection has resulted in agreements, both of which are binding (hard law) and non-binding (soft law). Participating countries adopted the convention rules agrred up on into their legaislation, and even to strengthen the protection and enforcement of laws relating to environmental protection and the right to a good environment for the present dan future generations, environmental norms are then contained in the constitution including the Indonesian constitution, namely the post-UUD 1945 amandement. Keywords: environmental damage, international environmental law damage, intergerational equity, sustainable development, and constitution.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Franziska Liebelt

<p>Third state intervention before international institutions originated in international arbitration around 1875 and has been included in the statute of the International Court since the foundation of the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ) and is therefore no new phenomenon. Today, most systems of international dispute settlement provide for the possibility of third state intervention. Nevertheless intervention before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has been used by states sparsely and seems underdeveloped. The statute of the ICJ provides for two ways of intervention in its arts 62 and 63. There have been few applications under these provisions. Looking at the court’s orders in these few cases, the court seems to have adopted a restrictive approach towards allowing applications to intervene. This paper looks at the institution of intervention in the area of international environmental law disputes. There have been two relevant disputes of this kind before the ICJ: the Nuclear Tests litigation and the recent litigation of Whaling in the Antarctic. Both of these cases dealt with the question of state obligations towards the protection of the environment. The applications to intervene in Nuclear Tests failed for reasons that will be explained in more detail below. New Zealand’s application to intervene in Whaling in the Antarctic was authorized by the ICJ on the 6 February 2013 under art 63 of the Statute of the ICJ. The case is exceptional in that it is only the second time the ICJ allowed intervention under art 63. Both cases demonstrate that there are environmental issues that concern more than only the nations that are parties to the dispute. They indicate that intervention plays a particularly strong role in environmental issues because these issues by their nature often affect more than just two states. This paper analyses how the shared environmental concern of the international community might lead to an extension of intervention before the ICJ. It further more looks at the issues that arose before the court in connection with the intervention in Whaling in the Antarctic and how these issues were dealt with.</p>


2021 ◽  
pp. 186-208
Author(s):  
Anders Henriksen

International environmental law is an area of international law where states have decided to cooperate with each other in order to fulfil certain goals of common interest and, for the most part, its rules and principles belong in the category of the international law of cooperation. This chapter discusses the most important parts of international environmental law and its main legal sources. It presents the fundamental principles of international environmental law, including those that seek to prevent damage to the environment and those that seek to ensure a balanced approach to environmental protection. It provides an overview of the most important parts of the substantial regulation in international environmental law, including the legal regime for the protection of the atmosphere, the conservation of nature and the regulation of hazardous substances. It also discusses features related to implementation and enforcement that are particular to international environmental law.


Author(s):  
Anders Henriksen

International environmental law is an area of international law where states have decided to cooperate with each other in order to fulfil certain goals of common interest and, for the most part, its rules and principles belong in the category of the international law of cooperation. This chapter discusses the most important parts of international environmental law and its main legal sources. It presents the fundamental principles of international environmental law, including those that seek to prevent damage to the environment and those that seek to ensure a balanced approach to environmental protection. It provides an overview of the most important parts of the substantial regulation in international environmental law, including the legal regime for the protection of the atmosphere, the conservation of nature, and the regulation of hazardous substances. It also discusses features related to implementation and enforcement that are particular to international environmental law.


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