internatonal environmental law

8/2/2019 Internatonal Environmental Law

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CRUZESPUERTA

BESORO


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Held in Stockholm in 1972 Gave way to the UN Environment

Programme Became the starting point for the

development of international environmentallaw as a separate and youngest field ofinternational law


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Important organisation in the evolution ofconventions

Based in Nairobi Consists of a governing Council of fifty-right

members elected by the General Assembly Responsible for the development of a number

of initiatives, including the 1985 ViennaConvention for the protection of the OzoneLayer and the 1987 Montreal Protocol and the1992 Convention on biodiversity


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African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights,1981

Article 24

All people shall have the right to a General satisfactoryenvironment favorable to their development

Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human

Rights 1988

Article 11

Everyone shall have the right to live in a healthy environment and

the states parties shall promote the protection, preservation andimprovement of the environmentConvention on the rights of the Child,1989

Article 29

The need for the education of the Child to be directed inter alia to

the development of respect for the natural resources


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Aarhus Convention on Access to information,Public Participation in Decision Making andAccess to Justice in Environmental Matters,1998

Recognises adequate protection of theenvironment is essential to human well being andthe enjoyment of basic human rights, includingthe right to life itself

Article 1

Each contracting party shall guarantee the rightsof access to information, public participation, indecision-making and access to justice inenvironmental matters.


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Article 9

Stipulates that parties should establish a reviewprocedure before a court of law or other independentand impartial body for any persons who consider thattheir request for information has not been properlyaddressed

Article 15Optional arrangements of anon-confrontational. Non-

judicial and consultative ststus should be establishedfor reviewing in compliance with the convention.


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27 principles

The twenty-seven principles contain references, inter alia, to common butdifferentiated responsibilities of states in view of their different contribution to

global environmental degradation, the need to reduce and eliminateunsustainable patterns of production and consumption and of the promotion ofappropriate demographic policies, the precautionary approach, the right todevelopment, environmental impact assessments, the right of individuals toaccess to information held by public authorities, the avoidance of unilateral trade

measures in response to environmental challenges outside their jurisdiction, andto the role of women and indigenous peoples.


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Agenda 21 constitutes a non-binding action planon environment and

development, divided into forty chapters

covering sectoral issues such as the atmosphere, oceans, fresh water, and land

resources, cross-sectoral issues such as poverty, demographics, and

human health, means of implementation, including finances, transfer of

technology as well as institutional and legal issues.


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States are accountable for breaches ofInternational Law. Such breaches of treaty or

customary International Law enable theinjured state to maintain a claim against theviolating state, whether by way of diplomaticaction or by way of recourse to internationalmechanisms where such are in place withregard to the subject matter.


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A dispute between Canada and United States oversulphur dioxide pollution from a Canadian Smelter,built in a valley shared by British Columbia and the

State of Washington, which damaged trees and copson the American side of the border. Tribunal Note:

Under principles of international law, as well as the law ofthe United States, no state has the right to use of territoryin such a manner as to cause injury by fumes in or to theterritory of another or the properties or persons therein,when the case is of serious consequence and the injury isestablished by clear and convincing evidence


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The convention on International Liability forDamage Caused by Spaceobjects,1972

Absolute liability for damage caused by spaceobjects on the surface of the earth or toaircraft in flight (Article II), but for faultliability for damage caused elsewhere or topersons or property on board a spaceobject.(Article III)


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Established the principle that states are notknowingly to allow their territory to be used for actscontrary to the rights of other states and from this canbe deduced a duty to inform other states of knownenvironmental hazards.

Article 198 of the Convention on the Lawof the Sea, 1982

When a state becomes aware of cases in which themarine environment is in imminent danger of beingdamaged or had been damaged by pollution, it shall

immediately notify other states it deems likely to beaffected by such damage, as well as the competentinternational authorities


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While the airspace above the territorialdomain of a state forms part of that state, the

imprecise notion of the atmosphere wouldcombine elements of this territorialsovereignty with areas not so defined. Thelegal characterization of the atmosphere,therefore, is confused and uncertain, but oneattractive possibility is to refer to it as ashared resource or area of common concern


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Pollution is broadly defined as theintroduction by man, directly or indirectly, of

substances or energy into the environmentresulting in deleterious effects of such anature as to endanger human health, harmliving resources and ecosystems, and impairor interfere with amenities and otherlegitimate uses of the environment.


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The Framework Convention on ClimateChange was negotiated by the

Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee,an independent body that had beenestablished by the UN General Assembly. Itwas signed by 154 states and the EuropeanCommunity and entered into force, after fiftyratifications, on 21 March 1994.


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The Convention on Biological Diversity wasprepared under the auspices of UNEP by anIntergovernmental Negotiating Committee and

opened for signature in Rio. As of June 1993, itwas signed by 163 states. It entered into force on29 December 1993 after thirty ratifications. TheConvention aims at the conservation and

sustainable use of biological diversity, the fairand equitable sharing of the benefits from itsuse, and the regulation of biotechnology.

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