International Environmental Law: Overview 1 April

Transcript:International Environmental Law: Overview 1 April:
International Environmental Law: Overview 1 April 2013 Issues Institutions and processes General principles of international environmental law Multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) Specific climate-related examples Implementation, enforcement and dispute settlement IEL ‘sources’ General principles and rules of public international law, e.g. Sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction Areas beyond national jurisdiction Sources of international law (including establishment of rules of customary international law) Law of treaties (including treaty-making and effect; interpretation; consequences of breach) State responsibility for internationally wrongful acts ‘IEL sources’ General principles of IEL Specific treaty regimes ‘Soft law’ Institutions and Processes UN system UNEP GA; ECOSOC; CSD; MDGs and post-2015 development agenda Rio+20 → Establish ‘High Level Political Forum’ ‘Upgrade’ UNEP – universal membership of Governing Council Establish Sustainable Development Goals Specialised agencies (e.g. FAO; IMO) and other IGOs Multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) COPs Environment and . . . . Trade Foreign Investment Human rights Development Principles of IEL ‘No harm’ Principle 2 Rio Declaration Cooperation/Good neighbourliness Role of environmental impact assessment Precautionary principle/approach Principle 15 Rio Declaration Common but differentiated responsibility Principle 7 Rio Declaration Polluter pays principle Principle of sustainable development ‘No harm’ 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 (Principle 2, Rio Declaration) Scope and application Due diligence Transboundary cf global context ‘No harm’ “The existence of the general obligation of states to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction and control respect the environment of other states or of areas beyond national control is now part of the corpus of international law relating to the environment.” (ICJ, Advisory Opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, 1996) A State is thus obliged to use all of the means at its disposal in order to avoid activities which take place in its territory, or in any area under its jurisdiction, causing significant damage to the environment of another state” (ICJ, Pulp Mills on the River Uruguay, para 101) Cooperation and EIA Obligation to notify and consult re activities that may have transboundary impact – e.g. international watercourses EIA – ‘it may now be taken as a