Search results for "environmental law"
showing 10 items of 43 documents
Compliance mechanism under Aarhus Convention - effective legal instrument for enforcement of international environmental law
2020
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) is first and unique international legal instrument which consists of strictly procedural provisions in environmental matters. The institutional structure of Aarhus Convention consists of a particular subsidiary body, namely Compliance Committee, responsible to assess submissions of civil society regarding failure to comply with treaty provisions. Although Compliance Committee issues…
The protection of the Baltic Sea marine environment from land-based pollution in light of international and EU legal frameworks
2020
The following thesis focuses on the legal mechanisms and norm adopted within the EU and international legal frameworks in order to protect the Baltic Sea marine environment from land-based pollution. As the Baltic Sea is one of the most polluted seas in the world, the specific and strong actions are crucially needed in order to restore the good ecological status of its marine environment. Thus, the main objective of the study is to determine whether the current international, regional and EU legal mechanisms are stringent enough in order to contribute to the Baltic Sea land-based pollution prevention. In case not, what are their limits. The course of the study revealed that existing legal m…
Roots of Modern Environmental Law in Europe
2021
Abstract The article provides a concise overview of the origins of modern environmental law in Europe based on general historical studies or the legal studies dealing with the history of environmental law in particular European regions or countries. It presents historical development of the two fundamental branches of environmental law, namely nature conservation and pollution control, first at the medieval times and then as a consequence of Industrial Revolution. The article presents the legal instruments and concepts invented in the past in the light of the instruments and concepts used in the current European legislation. In this context it attempts to show that some of the contemporary …
The International Court of Justice and International Environmental Law
2013
The jurisprudence of the ICJ on environmental issues has increased significantly in recent years. Although some environmental cases were frustrated, either by the discontinuance of the proceedings by the Parties or because the Court found that it lacked jurisdiction on the merits, an Advisory opinion and several Judgments have already been delivered by the Court. Overall, the contribution of the Court to international environmental law is still modest, in spite of its pronouncements affirming the obligation of States to protect the environment, to prevent transboundary harm to other States or areas beyond national jurisdiction, and to carry out an environmental impact assessment before pote…
Global Public Goods and International Law: Insights from International Forest Protection
2021
The aim of the present article is to contribute to this endeavour by identifying the weak-nesses of, and the areas for improvement in, the current global forest regulatory and institu-tional framework, through an analysis conducted using the lens of the concept of global public goods as transposed into, and shaped by, the discipline of international law. To this end, Section 2 starts by providing an overview of the origins of the concept of global public goods in political science and economy. Section 3 brings to the fore the value that the in-ternational legal discipline might add to the global public goods discourse. Section 4 pro-ceeds by explaining forest sustainable management protecti…
Gaps in International Biodiversity Law and Possible Ways Forward
2021
Building on the report on gaps in international environmental law prepared in 2018 by the UN Secretary-General, this chapter focuses on the existing gaps in international biodiversity law and explores possible ways forward to a more effective and integrated legal regime. The analysis indicates the existence of structural, regulatory and implementation gaps that seriously undermine the efficiency of the regime. The chapter explores the possibility of building a more integrated international legal regime for biodiversity protection by analysing three possible avenues: greater integration between existing conventions, the conclusion of new conventions (such as the impending agreement on marine…
Environmental Public Law: NGOs’ locus standi in Italian Case Law
2021
The paper focuses on NGOs’ locus standi in Italian Case Law
Response to Kruse-Plass et al. (2017) regarding the risk to non-target lepidopteran larvae exposed to pollen from one or more of three Bt maize event…
2017
We respond to the paper of Kruse-Plass et al. (Environ Sci Eur 29:12, 2017), published in this journal, regarding the risk to non-target lepidopteran larvae exposed to pollen from one or more of three Bt maize events (MON810, Bt11 and 1507). We emphasise that what is important for environmental risk assessment is not the number of pollen grains per se, but the degree of exposure of a NT lepidopteran larva to Bt protein contained in maize pollen. The main text of this response deals with general issues which Kruse-Plass et al. have failed to understand; more detailed refutations of each of their claims are given in Additional file 1. Valid environmental risk assessment requires direct measur…
La "due diligence" et le lien entre le sujet et le risque qu'il faut prévenir: quelques observations
2018
The link between a risk to be prevented and a State (or an international organization) is a classical issue of the international law of state responsibility. At variance with the prevailing opinion, it is submitted that the main questions concerning such an issue cannot be answered in a unitary manner. On the contrary, these question need to be framed in the different legal contexts within which they arise. Leaving aside the traditional international legal rules on the treatment of aliens, Ssome observations are developed concerning what occurs in the fields of international human rights, international humanitarian law and international environmental law. La question du lien entre le sujet …
Rights with limits: biocultural rights - between self-determination and conservation of the environment
2015
Kabir Bavikatte has recently argued that a new 'basket' of group rights is emerging from the interpretation of multilateral environmental agreements, domestic law and case law, and from shifts in the development discourse and the struggles of communities. He refers to this new set of rights as 'biocultural rights' and defines them as being all the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities required to secure their stewardship role over their lands and waters. Biocultural rights build on two foundations: the self-determination and cultural diversity of indigenous peoples and local communities, and the conservation of the environment. This article suggests that the second foundation i…