The United Nations Environment Assembly – the highest United Nations body ever convened on the environment – opened on 23 June 2014 at the headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi. UNEA is a direct member of the General Assembly and has universal members in the 193 UN Member States and other stakeholders. With this broad reach in the areas of legislation, finance and development, the new body represents a revolutionary platform for leadership in global environmental policy. Treaties generally cover one of the following major issues: toxic and hazardous substances, nuclear damage, marine and marine sources, ozone and atmospheric protection, pollution, biodiversity and protection and conservation of species and wildlife, sustainable development, trade and environment. The Globalex Guide on International Environmental Legal Research provides a useful table of these topics as well as links to relevant agreements and agencies. In addition to the peaceful resolution of environmental conflicts, international environmental law is also used to reconcile the planet`s ecological boundaries with the ever-growing global economy in order to prevent irreversible environmental damage from the outset. Today, governments meet regularly to address the global sustainability of the planet or to negotiate one of hundreds of bilateral, regional and global treaties aimed at addressing a particular environmental challenge before it is too late. A cross-border comparison on a point scale of 7.0, as shown in Fig. 8.4 shows that Denmark (6.5) had the highest effectiveness of the regulatory framework, followed by Germany (6.3) and Switzerland (6.1), while it was significantly effective in Singapore (6.0), Australia (5.9), the United Kingdom (5.8), Japan (5.6), South Africa (5.4), the United States (4.9) and India (4.8). Common concern. The global environment is a common concern of humanity, the legal framework was the least effective in Venezuela (1.5) and had a relatively low level of effectiveness in the Russian Federation (2.8), Brazil (2.9), China (3.6), Tanzania (3.7) and Thailand (4.4). OECD Environment Directorate – Statistics, publications and documents as well as country information on topics of international environmental law.
But not all environmental threats trigger international responses (as opposed to exclusively national or local responses). For countries to sacrifice their autonomy, some advantage must be taken from the collective management of the problem. Typically, countries turn to international cooperation, where (l) environmental impacts are transboundary (e.g. B, pollution of the Great Lakes) or global (e.g. B, climate change). (2) Certain international activities contribute to environmental damage. B for example the international trade in elephant ivory or the slaughter of whales. or (3) international coordination of financial or technical assistance may catalyze actions (e.B. for global biodiversity conservation).
In these circumstances, international cooperation – whether in the form of a binding treaty or a non-binding agreement – is necessary to effectively address the environmental challenge. The Commission is composed of 60 Member States elected by the General Assembly. Membership is structured in such a way as to be representative of the different geographical regions of the world and their main economic and legal systems. The members of the Commission shall be elected for a term of six years, with the term of office of half of the members expiring every three years. According to this jurisdictional principle of international law, all acts of other governments are considered valid by the court of a country, even if such acts are not appropriate in the country. For example, foreign governments have the right to impose restrictions related to financial repatriation to other countries. Companies operating internationally face major challenges in complying with different laws, regulations and legal systems in different countries. The legal framework for the protection of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in particular to achieve social objectives, has a detrimental effect on the development of productive capacities and the achievement of economies of scale in some countries. Representatives of 172 countries gathered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992 for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the 1992 Earth Summit.
The summit produced the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, Agenda 21 and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). These documents continue to shape international action on environmental issues. In 2002, the United Nations hosted the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development, also known as the 2002 Earth Summit, in Johannesburg, South Africa. The 2002 Earth Summit focused on sustainable development and environmental protection. The conference developed the Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development, an international convention on the environment and sustainable development. The Johannesburg Declaration incorporates the proposals of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and Agenda 21. The Johannesburg Declaration contained modified goals and timetables for achieving the goals of Agenda 21. Many conference representatives and environmental organizations criticized the 2002 Earth Summit for not being able to build on the success of the 1992 Earth Summit. Disputes between States concerning international environmental law may be heard before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), provided that the dispute is between States that have declared that the ICJ has compulsory jurisdiction.
The ICJ is a court of general jurisdiction that prepares opinions and decides contentious cases. Intergovernmental disputes are based on the remedial principle of „State responsibility“ or on international law of tortious liability. The ICJ is only able to settle disputes between states: individuals and other non-state actors cannot be parties to a dispute. This law derives from the Marxist socialist system and continues to influence the legal framework in former communist countries such as the CIS, China, North Korea, Vietnam and Cuba. Socialist law traditionally advocates the ownership of most assets by the state or state-owned state-owned enterprises and prohibits foreign companies from freely accessing them. Environmental impact assessment. An environmental impact assessment shall be carried out for planned activities likely to have significant adverse effects on the environment. .