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Chapter Eight: Making International Environmental Law Work: Improving Compliance and Resolving Disputes

I. Introduction: Evaluating Effectiveness

  • A. Intellectual History

An Etiology of Theories of Political Realism - provided by New York University, a diagram displaying the relationship between different theories of political realism

The Politics of International Law - by Martti Koskenniemi, argues that the rule of law must rely on political principles to justify outcomes to international disputes

  • B. Compliance vs. Effectiveness

Intentional Oil Pollution at Sea: Environmental Policy and Treaty Compliance - by Ronald Mitchell, summarizes his book which provides a case study of how international environmental treaties can be made more effective by identifying policies that increase compliance

  • C. Effectiveness of Institutional Process

UC Irvine project on the Third Generation of International Environmental Law - a three-year project analyzing the effectiveness of international environmental law

II. Implementation and Compliance

  • A. Why Do States Comply With International Law?

The New Sovereignty - by Abram Chayes and Antonia Handler Chayes, provides a synopsis and purchasing information for their book which proposes a managerial model of treaty compliance

  • B. Sources of Non-Compliance

Improving Enforcement and Compliance with CITES - by the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy Student Clinic, examining options for improving compliance with CITES

  • C. Mechanisms for Improving Implementation and Compliance

Key Resources on the Internet for International Law Research - issued by the Canadian Council on International Law for the 1996 conference on Fostering Compliance in International Law

III. Responding to Non-Compliance

  • A. Managing Non-Compliance Through "Non-Compliance Procedures"

International Efforts to Protect the Global Atmosphere: A Case of Too Little, Too Late? - by Günther Handl, stating that the Montreal Protocol makes specific allowances for developing countries' compliance with the Protocol's restrictions

  • B. Enforcement and Sanctions Within the Treaty Regime

Enforcing International Law - an ASIL article by Frederic L. Kirgis, Jr., details international enforcement mechanisms such as the Security Council's authorization of trade and diplomatic sanctions, self-enforcing rules, self-help mechanisms, and application of international pressure

  • C. Liability for Environmental Damage

Enforcement and the Success of International Environmental Law - by Mary Ellen O'Connell, proposes that domestic courts should be used for international environmental law enforcement

IV. Dispute Avoidance and Dispute Resolution

  • A. Dispute Avoidance

Dispute Avoidance and Dispute Resolution in International Environmental Agreements and Multilateral Trade Agreements - full text of the introduction to a UNEP paper providing an overview of the existing dispute avoidance and dispute resolution mechanisms incorporated in certain environmental conventions and multilateral trade agreements

  • B. Dispute Resolution

The United Nations Dispute Settlement System and International Environmental Disputes - by David M. Konisky, argues that the United Nations is the international institution best-suited to resolve environmental conflicts that pose a threat to international security through its dispute settlement system