INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW:

Notes on the text:

United Nations Convention on the Human Environment (UNCHE)

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)

the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)

the International Court of Justice (ICJ)

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

The preservation of environment and its protection from pollution has recently assumed global proportions. The growth of international environmental issues is reflected in the large body of principles and rules of international environmental law. As a result of a complex interplay between governments, non-governmental actors and international organizations, many treaties and international acts have appeared since the second half of the nineteenth century. (The table of treaties and others international acts is given in the references [№ 2: xix-xl]).

International environmental law has evolved over at least four distinct periods. It reflects developments in scientific knowledge, the application of new technologies and understanding of their impacts, changes in political consciousness and the changing structure of the international legal order and institutions. The first period began with bilateral treaties in the nineteenth century and concluded with the creation of the new international organisations in 1945. The second period commenced with the creation of the UN and culminated with the UN Conference on Human Environment, held in Stockholm in June 1972. The third period ran from the 1972 Stockholm Conference and concluded with UNCED in June 1992. The fourth period may be characterised as the period of integration: when environmental concerns are recognized as a matter of international law and policy.

The international environmental law is the body of international law that concerns the protection of the global environment. It is originally associated with the principle that states must not permit the use of their territory in such a way as to injure the territory of other states. International environmental law has since been expanded by a plethora of legally-binding international agreements. These encompass a wide variety of issue-areas, from terrestrial, marine and atmospheric pollution through to wildlife and biodiversity protection.

International environmental law derives its content from four main sources: 1) International agreements (also called treaties, conventions, international legal instruments, pacts, protocols, covenants); 2) Customary international law; 3) General principles of law; 4) Other/ new sources (e.g., court decisions (case-law), resolutions, declarations, doctrine, recommendations given by world organizations etc.).

The majority of the conventions relating to international environmental law are specific; that means that they deal directly with environmental issues. Protocols are like mini-agreements that "hang off" the main treaty. They are especially useful in the environment field, where they can be used to update scientific knowledge. Protocols are generally much easier to generate than a treaty and they can enter into force very quickly. The most widely-known protocol in international environmental law is the Kyoto Protocol. Customary international law represents the norms and rules that countries follow as a matter of custom and they are so prevalent that they bind all states in the world. International environmental law also includes the opinions of international courts and tribunals. The courts include: the International Court of Justice (ICJ); the Law of the Sea Court; the European Court of Justice; regional treaty tribunals.

International environmental law is heavily influenced by a collection of organizing principles. The chief guiding principle is that states have sovereignty (full power) over their natural resources and the responsibility not to cause environmental damage. All other international environmental law principles evolved with this principle in the background. The principle of good neighbourliness and international co-operation; the principle of preventive action; the precautionary principle; the polluter-pays principle; the principle of sustainable development (WSSD) – integration of environmental protection and economic development; the principle of environmental procedural rights and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, are among them.

A new programme area has been agreed by the UNEP Legal Experts Group. The main purpose of this programme is to promote public awareness, education, information and public participation, including the development of natural rules, laws and standards.