International Environmental Law
JUS5520
Prof. Dr. Christina Voigt
UiO
1. What is International
Environmental Law?
2. What is the Environment?
Webster’s dictionary: the circumstances, objects,
or conditions by which one is surrounded, the
complex physical, chemical, and biotic factors (such
as climate, soil, and living things) that act upon an
organism or an ecological community and
ultimately determines survival.
An ecosystem is a community of living organisms
(plants, animals and microbes) in conjunction with
the non-living components of their environment
(things like air, water and mineral soil), interacting
as a system.
2. What is the Environment?
«The environment is not an abstraction, but
represents the living space, the quality of life,
and the very health of human beings, including
generations unborn.»
(Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear
Weapons, Advisory Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 1996,
pp. 241-242, para. 29.)
3. Where do we find IEL?
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Treaties
Customary rules
General principles
Soft-law
4. Why do we need International
Environmental Law?
Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution
The Great Pacific garbage patch, also described as the Pacific trash vortex, is a
gyre of marine debris particles in the central North Pacific Ocean located roughly
between 135°W to 155°W and 35°N and 42°N. The patch extends over an
indeterminate area, with estimates ranging very widely depending on the degree
of plastic concentration used to define the affected area.
The patch is characterized by exceptionally high concentrations of pelagic plastics,
chemical sludge and other debris that have been trapped by the currents of the
North Pacific Gyre. Despite its size and density (4 particles per cubic meter), the
patch is not visible from satellite photography, nor even necessarily to a casual
boater or diver in the area, since it consists primarily of a small increase in
suspended, often-microscopic particles in the upper water column.
4. Why do we need IEL?
– Facts:
• Pollution (and other environmental problems) don’t respect
political boundaries
• Atmosphere/Biosphere are one, but the world is not…
– Other states are often impacted by environmental
degradation than those that caused it (who gets the
advantages of harmful activities? Who gets the
disadvantages? Who is responsible for damages? To
what extent can compensation be claimed?)
– Mapping and controlling of international transfers of
polluting products, wastes, harmful activities transparency
4. Why do we need IEL?
– Risk that activities prohibited in one country will
move to another state whose
legislation/enforcement is less vigorous
(«pollution havens», leakage)
– Level-playing field (environmental
integrity/competitiveness): A state implementing
environmental laws must bear increased costs.
The state risks a competitive disadvantage in the
global marketplace unless international measures
harmonize environmental protection
requirements for all competition
4. Why do we need IEL?
– Some phenomena are global and severe in
character – need long-term, multilateral
cooperation (climate change, biodiversity decline
ocean acidification) – What is «cooperation»?
– Challenges:
• Reconciliation of the fundamental independence of
each state with the inherent and fundamental
interdepence of the environment
• Balance of all (social, economic) interests within the
carrying capacity of the Earth’s ecosystems, oceans and
atmosphere
What can IEL do?
• Multilateral Environmental Treaties to:
– Create transparency: Fact finding, monitoring,
reporting, review, accounting
– Setting up procedures: for import, export, trade
with certain substances,
– Setting standards: pollution control (water,
marine, air, land, space), quota, limits,
– Setting principles: resource conservation and
management, land planning, biodiversity
conservation
5. Why do we need LAW?
• Highest level of commitment: Certainty, more resilient
against changes, deeper democratic commitment,
more likely to be implemented domestically
• Stability and predictability for business and markets
• Reciprocity
• Cooperation (allocation of burden and benefits)
• Compliance control/consequences
• Cost effectiveness
• Flexibility
• Participation versus ambition?
6. Why could legal responses be
difficult?
• May take long time to negotiate
• May be characterized by ‘constructive ambiguity’ and
be little ambitious
• May result in long and difficult ratification processes,
including leaving certain states out
• May be too static and inflexible
• Non-legally binding agreement:
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may allow for more ambitious goals
will not require ratification procedure
more realistic, at least in short term
allows focus on substance rather than form.