Non Compliance Procedures And Mechanisms And The Effectiveness Of International Environmental Agreements

Traditional means of international dispute settlement have proved to be largely ineffective in ensuring the effectiveness of international environmental law. Thus, states are increasingly creating regime-specific systems to control, facilitate and assist the implementation of and compliance with each multilateral environmental agreement. By bringing together the perspectives of scholars, negotiators and practitioners, this book provides a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the most advanced of these systems, the so-called “non-compliance mechanisms”, in which a specialized treaty body is entrusted with the task of examining cases of non-compliance by State parties. Included are descriptions of each mechanism and an analysis of cross-cutting issues. It also explains how these systems relate to relevant concepts and mechanisms of general international law and, for the first time, of European Union law. The book is a valuable source of information and recommended reading for academics, practitioners, civil servants, NGOs and all those interested in public international law, EC law and environmental law. Tullio Treves is a Judge at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and Professor of International Law at the University of Milan; Laura Pineschi is Professor of International Law at the University of Parma; Attila Tanzi is Professor of International Law at the University of Bologna and Chairperson of the Compliance Committee of the Protocol on Water and Health; Cesare Pitea is Aggregate Professor of International and European Law at the University of Parma; Chiara Ragni is a Senior Researcher in International Law at the University of Milan; and Francesca Romanin Jacur is a Post-doc Researcher in International Law at the University of Milan and Legal Adviser to the Italian Ministry of the Environment, Land and Sea in a project of the University of Siena.

This report seeks to perform a comparative analysis of compliance mechanisms under selected multilateral environment agreements (MEAs). It seeks to contribute to UNEP's work on implementation mechanisms for international instruments. The report identifies strategic opportunities for interlinkages and synergies in compliance mechanisms among MEAs.

Non-Compliance Procedures and Mechanisms and the Effectiveness of International Environmental Agreements Editors Tullio Treves, Laura Pineschi, Attila Tanzi, Cesare Pitea, Chiara Ragni, Francesca Romanin Jacur A project of the Universities of Milan, Bologna and Parma co-? nanced by the Italian Ministry of University and Research T. M. C. ASSER PRESS The Hague Foreword iv Published by T. M. C. ASSER PRESS P. O. Box 16163, 2500 BD The Hague, The Netherlands T. M. C. ASSER PRESS’ English language books are distributed exclusively by Cambridge University Press, The Edinburgh Building, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK, or, for customers in the USA, Canada and Mexico: Cambridge University Press, 100 Brook Hill Drive, West Nyack, NY 10994-2133, USA The publication of this book was supported by the ? nancial contribution of the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MIUR) and of the Universities of Milano, Bologna and Parma, within the framework of a research project of national interest (PRIN 2005, n. 2005124407). ISBN 978-90-6704-273-4 All rights reserved. © 2009, T. M. C. Asser Press, The Hague, The Netherlands, and the Authors This publication is protected by international copyright law. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior wr- ten permission of the copyright owners.

Measures for regulating the behaviour of nation states in relation to the global environment have increasingly taken the form of international treaties and conventions. Many have argued that this has proved to be an ineffective way of halting unsustainable development, for the provisions of these agreements are either too weak or are flouted regularly by the parties concerned. This volume seeks to address the crucial question of how compliance with these agreements could be encouraged effectively without damaging the fragile political consensus that is emerging on environmental issues. With extensive use of case studies, Improving Compliance will make stimulating reading for all students and researchers working in this area, as well as for anyone concerned about the effectiveness of international environmental measures.

In this publication, a number of recognized practitioners and scholars undertake to explore the realities and the conceptual underpinnings of environmental compliance mechanisms. In a relatively short period of time, such mechanisms were introduced in a wide range of new and existing environmental regimes. Yet, little is known about their function in practice and their implications. This is puzzling when considering, that the new mechanisms considerably depart from traditional patterns of counteraction and dispute settlement. Instead they build on partnership and cooperation and include a wide range of possible reactions, which range from those having coercive power to supportive measures. Quite a number of those mechanisms and their functioning are explained in the publication in order to lay ground for some cross-cutting analysis, which covers inter alia reporting, inspection and monitoring, supportive financial incentives and the interrelationship between compliance mechanisms and the principle of state responsibility and dispute settlement. Finally the role of non-governmental organizations is addressed. Practitioners and scholars in international environmental affairs and international law more generally will benefit significantly from the inside views and thorough reflection as provided for in this book.

This book explores how compliance with international environmental law has changed over time, offering a critical analysis of its current shifting patterns. Beginning with an overview of compliance with international environmental law, the book goes on to explore in detail: compliance in the different legal regimes instituted by Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), the addition of new subjects of international law, the legal relations between developed and developing countries, and the emergence of new compliance mechanisms in global environmental law. The analysis takes two key developments into consideration: the evolution in forms of compliance and non-state involvement in compliance with international environmental law. In the final section, three case studies are provided to demonstrate how these changes have occurred in selected areas: climate change, biodiversity and water resources. Throughout the book, topics are illustrated with extracts from specific international environmental law jurisprudence and relevant international environmental law instruments. In doing so, the book offers a comprehensive analysis of compliance with international environmental law, providing original insights and following a clear and systematic structure supported by reference to the sources. This book will be of interest to professionals, academics and students working in the field of compliance with international environmental law.

Prompted by recent events in the EU’s international environmental cooperation, this thought-provoking book explores the establishment and use of multilateral environmental compliance mechanisms as part of the EU’s external environmental action. Expanding upon current discussions in external relations law, this timely book uses a doctrinal approach to analyse EU engagement with this key instrument of treaty-based international environmental governance.

The adoption of administrative procedures in global governance has the potential to foster proper consideration of marginalized actors’ interests, yet risks entrenching the dominance of the well-resourced and powerful. Accordingly, this book proposes a new framework for evaluating the extent to which administrative procedures in the compliance systems of multilateral environmental agreements constrain power and promote regard for the interests of affected states, which are frequently developing and transition countries. This framework is applied to the compliance systems under the Montreal Protocol, the Kyoto Protocol and CITES, which address critical global environmental issues of ozone-layer depletion, climate change and trade in endangered species, respectively. The analysis shows that, under certain conditions, administrative procedures limit the influence of states’ asymmetric power on compliance deliberations. Furthermore, systematic adoption of these procedures increases the opportunities for affected states’ interests to be voiced and considered in compliance decision-making processes.