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Summary LAW22306 Global and EU environmental law and policy
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Some examples from this set of practice questions
1.
International environmental law definition
Answer: International environmental law is a branch in international law dealing with the effects of human activity on the natural environment. It aims to prevent transboundary environmental problems and/or administer shared ecosystem jointly.
2.
What are the key points in International environmental law?
Answer: A) IEL wants to regulate sovereign entities B) IEL is fragmented C) states are the main actors
3.
What are sovereign enities
Answer: States, and not nations
4.
Why is there a tension in the regulation of sovereign entities in IEL?
Answer: There is a tension between states wanting to solve the problem together but also the desire to retain as much power as possible
5.
Why is international law fragmented?
Answer: There is no central government/ legislative body and no hierarchy between treaties. So a lack of coherence
6.
What means no hierarchy between laws?
Answer: No law is more important than another law
7.
What is the UN Security Council?
Answer: It has veto right, 15 members of which 5 are permanent. These are China, France, Russia, UK and US. They focus mainly on peace and security
8.
IEL is made by
Answer: States, which bind themselves and practice gives rise to customary law. But also bussinesses and organisations are important.
9.
Were there any environmental treaties before 1945?
Answer: No there were no environmental treaties. However there where treaties on fisheries and sea, which had environmental side effects. These treaties were also not worldwide, they mainly occured in the Western States. Since 1945 this changed and the number of treaties rapidly went up
10.
When was the Trail Smelter Case?
Answer: 1941
Content preview
Lecture 1 IntroductionInternational environmental law is branch of international law dealing with the
effects of humaan actiiitn on the natumral eniironaento It aias to “prreient transboumndarn
eniironaental prrobleas and/or adainister shared ecosnsteas jointln”
Ken proints are:
a) International (eniironaental) law aainln seeks to regumlate soiereign entities
(states) → tension between need to solie coaaon prrobleas together and desire
to retain as aumch prower as prossible
i) Soiereign entities → states (coumntries), and not nations!!!
ii) Froa a legal proint of iiew are all states equmalo Froa another proint of iiew
ego econoaicalln or ailitarn, states aight not be equmalo
b) International law is fragaented: not one central goiernaent/legislatiie bodn, no
hierarchn between treaties → lack of coherence between branches of law (eogo
International Trade Law is International Eniironaental Law)
i) No hierarchn aeans that no law is aore iaprortant than another law
ii) National law is created topr down, while international law is created bn
treatieso
iii) Secumritn coumncil has ieto right and 15 aeabers in total (of which 10
changing and 5 preraanent aeabers (China, France, Rumssia, UK and US))
and onln focumses on preace and secumritno
c) States are the aain actors of international (eniironaental) law: then aake
treaties that bind theaselies and their prractice giies rise to cumstoaarn lawo BUT
other actors are iaprortant as well: ciiil societn organizations, bumsiness
Lecture 2 History of International Environmental Law
There where soae bilateral treaties on fsheries and umse of watercoumrses in late 19th and
earln 20th centumrn, and onln in Western states. The focums of the treaties was not on
eniironaental prrotection, howeier eniironaental prrotection was often a side efecto So
before 1945 there existed onln a numaber of treaties, bumt since 1945 the numaber has
gone umpr rapridlno
Iaprortant case:
Trail Smelter Case - 1941
● A lead and lead saelting prlant was situmated in Trail in Canada near the US bordero
The wind blew the saoke to the US resumlting in side effects in the US instead of
Canadao
● US faraers/landowners with croprs/forests daaaged bn saoke coaprlained against
prriiate coapranno This resumlted in nothing so then also went to the Canadian
coumrto
● Still no coaprensation so states got iniolied leading to an international disprumte:
USA i Canada
● The disprumte was solied bn an arbitration.
● Arbitral tribunal oumtcoae: Canada was foumnd to be wrong which was not a
logical oumtcoae at the tiaeo
● “no state has the right to umse or prerait the umse of its territorn in sumch as aanner
as to caumse injumrn bn fumaes in the territorn of another or the prroprerties or prersons
therein”
● The principle of state responsibility for transboundary pollution originates
, froa thiso Shorter iersion: No harm principle
Dispute between states starts to to a prroblea/disprumte on prriiate scale between prarties
froa different coumntrieso hhen is can not be solied the the disprumte becoaes
internationalizedo
Arbitration is like a coumrt, bumt now the jumdges are chosen bn the two prarties theaselfo
The oumtcoae is bindingo
United Nations Organisation (UN)
It was set umpr in 1945 after hhII with the prumrprose of:
(1) Maintain preace and secumritn
(2) Deielopr friendln relations aaong nations
(3) co-oprerate to solie prrobleas and prroaote humaan rights
So in the earln stage there was no prumrprose of eniironaental prrotection, it was onln aboumt
drawing a lesson froa hhII
Meaber States:
● 51 in 1945
● 193 now (aajoritn of deielopring + aid-incoae coumntries)
The numaber of coumntries grew dume to decolonisationo So coumntries becoaing indeprendent
and joining the UNo Howeier when entering the Un as a new state, noum are not
aumtoaaticalln prart of a treatn, noum still need to sing to be prarto
The deielopraents in the law of the sea is iern iaprortant becaumse aann coumntries haie
access to the seao
● 1958: UN Conference on the Law of the Sea
○ Seieral treaties (= conientions) were adoprted on fshing, balancing
resoumrce umtilisation and conseriationo
○ Convention on the High Seas
■ Article 24
, ● Eiern State shall draw umpr regumlations to prreient prollumtion of
the seas bn the discharge of oil froa shiprs or priprelines or
resumlting froa the exprloitation and exprloration of the seabed
and its sumbsoil (ooo)
■ Article 25
● Eiern State shall take aeasumres to prreient prollumtion of the
seas froa the dumapring of radioactiie waste (ooo)
● All States shall cooprerate with the coapretent international
organizations in taking aeasumres for the prreiention of
prollumtion of the seas or air sprace aboie, resumlting froa ann
actiiities with radioactiie aaterials or other harafuml agentso
Dont haie to know these bn hardo
● 1982: UN convention on the Law of the Sea
○ Constitumtion of the oceans
○ Part XII is aboumt the prrotection and prreseriation of the aarine
eniironaento
○ Article 192: “States haie the obligation to prrotect and prreserie the aarine
eniironaent”
Conferences:
● 1972: Stockholm conference
○ In 1972 it was aprprroaching the end of decolonisation, so there was aann
diiersitn in the UNo
○ UN Conference on the Human Environment
○ Adoprted the “Stockholm Declaration”, which is a non-binding documaent
listing prrinciprles prertaining to eniironaental prrotection
○ The aboie led to the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP)
○ There was a link aade between eniironaent and deielopraent, which
becaae the ken concern in Rio (1992)
○ Stockhola Declaration, Principrle 8: Econoaic and social deielopraent is
essential for ensumring a faiorable liiing and working eniironaent for aan
and for creating conditions on earth that are necessarn for the
iaprroieaent of the qumalitn of lifeo
■ There is a tension between the econoaic and soical deielopraent
and the eniironeaental prrotection, which aakes it difcumlt to fora
a strong stateaent
○ Stockhola Declaration, Principrle 11: The eniironaental prolicies of all
States shoumld enhance and not adierseln affect the prresent or fumtumre
deielopraent protential of deielopring coumntries, nor shoumld then haaprer
the attainaent of better liiing conditions for all, and aprprroprriate steprs
shoumld be taken bn States (ooo)
■ So whateier noum do for the eniironaent, it shoumld not hara the
deielopraent
■ This also led to the Global North/Global South Divide: newln
indeprendent, deielopring coumntries sceprtical aboumt the green
agenda of deielopred states, which then fear(ed) coumld prreient
deielopraent
● 1992: Rio conference
○ It was the largest conference held at the tiaeo
■ 30,000 prarticiprants froa 176 coumntries
■ More than 700 accredited NGOs (did not haie a iote, bumt talked to
preoprle to influmence the agenda)
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