While not the focus of this textbook, understanding the role and nature of international environmental law is important in understanding UK environmental law. This is because, international law has played a vital role in creating frameworks for environmental protection and for catalysing developments in national environmental law. This chapter provides an overview of international environmental law. It begins with a brief examination of the concept of international environmental law, the different ways it can be defined, its history, and the emergence of hybrids of it. In the second section a number of key ideas in public international law that are relevant to international environmental law are explored including the sources of international law, state sovreignity, fragmentation, and international law theory. The analysis then moves on to the institutional landscape of international environmental law, its legal nature and finally the nuanced relationship between international environmental law and national and EU law.
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12. International Environmental Law
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3. Rights and Obligations of States Concerning Protection of the Environment
This chapter argues that rule and principles of general international law concerning protection of the environment can be identified. It should not be forgotten that international environmental law is not a separate or self-contained field of law, and nor is it currently comprehensively codified or set out in a single treaty or body of treaties. It could be argued that international environmental law is merely the application of established rules, principles, and processes of general international law to the resolution of international environmental problems and disputes, without the need for creating new law, or even for developing old law. The chapter looks in detail at the issues around the expectations and realities of international environmental law.
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4. State Responsibility, Treaty Compliance, and Dispute Settlement
This chapter looks at the number of ways that secure compliance with international environmental law can be employed. The more traditional approach to this subject is the familiar one of interstate claims for breach of international obligations, employing the variety of forms of dispute settlement machinery contemplated in Article 33 of the UN Charter. There are a number of disadvantages to enforcing international environmental law in this manner, particularly if it involves compulsory resort to judicial institutions. The chapter outlines these disadvantages which include the adverse effect on relations between the relevant states; the complexity, length, and expense of international litigation; the technical character of environmental problems, and the difficulties of proof which legal proceedings may entail, and uncertainty concerning jurisdiction and applicable law in legally complex disputes.
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5. International law and environmental protection
Stuart Bell, Donald McGillivray, Ole W. Pedersen, Emma Lees, and Elen Stokes
This chapter describes the development, scope, and application of international environmental law, which has expanded significantly since the late 1960s. The focus is on international treaties relating to environmental protection. The chapter is restricted to discussing public, rather than private, international law—that is, the law between states, rather than the conflict of legal systems. International law has often been regarded as something rather closer to international relations due to the fact that there is no single body with the power to make and enforce law against states, companies, or individuals effectively. In the UK, international law does not necessarily have a direct impact on domestic law or on individuals. Treaties need to be given effect to through national legislation and are concerned with the action of states, not individuals within states—with some notable exceptions, such as the law on war crimes.
Book
Reza Beheshti, Séverine Saintier, and Sean Thomas
Bradgate's Commercial Law provides comprehensive coverage of the principles of commercial law alongside critical discussion. It offers rigorous in-depth analysis and a modern, contextual approach which draws links to the practice of commercial law. This edition includes new chapters on international trade, foreign investment, and the future trajectory of the subject. There is expanded coverage of territorial matters, the law of the sea, and maritime delimitation, with the aim to reflect advances in the area. Also, chapters have been updated to include detailed explanation of topics such as international organisations, international environmental law, the law of treaties, and legal subjects. All chapters have been revised to incorporate new developments and all major judgments in the area.
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2. International Governance and the Formulation of Environmental Law and Policy
This chapter examines the institutions of global governance responsible for formulating and implementing international environmental policy and law. It starts by defining global governance as a continuing process via which conflicting or diverse interests may be accommodated. This provides the environment where cooperative action may be taken. Global governance includes formal institutions and regimes empowered to enforce compliance, as well as informal arrangements. In this situation, there is no single model or form of global governance, nor is there a single structure or set of structures. Global governance, therefor, is a broad, dynamic, complex, process of interactive decision-making. The chapter also looks at the differences in international environmental policy and law today compared to when this book first published twenty-five years previously.
Book
Stuart Bell, Donald McGillivray, Ole Pedersen, Emma Lees, and Elen Stokes
Trusted by generations of students and academics alike, Environmental Law continues to provide, in its ninth edition, broad and comprehensive coverage of the key topics taught on most environmental law courses, explaining the subject in its social and political context, and considering both UK, EU, and international perspectives. Known for its clear structure and systematic approach, the book considers topics by theme and by sector, allowing more experienced readers to explore the intricacies of the subject while also providing a logical introduction for those new to environmental law or without a legal background. A clear and easy-to-understand writing style helps ensure readers are informed yet not overwhelmed, while useful diagrams and tables help to explain complex points. The new edition also features case studies, information boxes, and self-test questions to help draw out key points and consolidate your learning in preparation for assessments and further research. New to this edition are: discussions of the potential impact of Brexit on UK environmental law; an additional chapter discussing the regulation of new technologies, such as ‘fracking’; coverage of important cases such as Coventry v. Lawrence on nuisance, Walton, Champion, and the HS2 decision on environmental assessment, the ClientEarth air pollution litigation and the ICJ’s decision in Costa Rica v. Nicaragua; analysis of the Paris Agreement and other recent climate change developments; analysis of the new EIA Directive; discussion on the new sentencing guidelines; and enhanced coverage of the latest developments in respect to costs of litigation and the role of courts, the Aarhus Convention, and environmental rights.
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19. The protection of the environment
This chapter studies the development of international environmental law. A significant proportion of international environmental law obligations is contained in treaties, which often provide for institutional mechanisms or procedural obligations for their implementation. There exists a dense network of treaty obligations relating to environmental protection, and to specific sectors such as climate change, the conservation of endangered species, or the handling of toxic materials. Indeed, though customary international law knows of no general legal obligation to protect and preserve the environment, certain customary rules nevertheless have been found in specific treaties, case law, and occasionally even soft law instruments. The most significant such rule is the principles of prevention, often taking the form of the ‘good neighbour’ principle. States are required to exercise due diligence in preventing their territory from being used in such a way so as to cause significant damage to the environment of another state.
Book
Stuart Bell, Donald McGillivray, Ole Pedersen, Emma Lees, and Elen Stokes
Trusted by generations of students and academics alike, Environmental Law continues to provide, in its tenth edition, broad and comprehensive coverage of the key topics taught on most environmental law courses, explaining the subject in its wider context, and considering both UK and international perspectives and the continuing relevance of EU environmental law. Known for its clear structure and systematic approach, the book considers topics by theme and by sector, allowing more experienced readers to explore the intricacies of the subject while also providing a logical introduction for those new to environmental law or without a legal background. A clear and easy-to-understand writing style helps ensure readers are informed yet not overwhelmed, while useful diagrams and tables help to explain complex points. The new edition also features case studies, information boxes, and self-test questions to help draw out key points and consolidate your learning in preparation for assessments and further research. New to this edition are, amongst other things: discussions of the impact of Brexit on UK environmental law, including the Environment Act 2021 and the creation of the Office for Environmental Protection, as well as the increasing scope for divergence of environmental law across the UK administrations; major revisions to coverage of waste law to consider the role of law in a circular economy; coverage of important cases such as Fearn v Tate Gallery on nuisance, Finch on environmental assessment and indirect climate effects, further ClientEarth air pollution litigation; Coöperatie Mobilisation (the EU Habitats Directive and nutrient neutrality); and analysis of the new ‘net zero’ duty under the Climate Change Act 2008, legal challenges to how this is being implemented, and other recent climate change developments such as the effect of the effect of the Paris Climate Agreement in national decision-making (Friends of the Earth v Heathrow Airport).
