Using Law and Equity for Poor and the Environment

This chapter discusses ways of overcoming “adaptation apartheid,” a term used to describe the differences in reactions to environmental disasters between poor and wealthy people and countries. The chapter focuses on “environmental protection and poverty alleviation.” The first section describes the connections between poverty and environmental damage, and the second section discusses distributive justice, defined as “an ethical imperative based on the notion of moral reciprocity.” Third, the chapter lists the sources of law pertaining to environmental justice, including private law, regulation, market mechanisms, and rights-based approaches. The chapter concludes by noting the advantages and challenges to a rights-based approach and advocates for an approach that addresses both environmental and human rights

Comments on the Normative Challenge of Environmental “Soft Law”

This paper describes the increased presence of non-binding soft law in international environmental law and begins by listing the possible uses of a “non-binding normative instrument.” Next, the paper describes the relationship between soft law and customary international law and notes that soft law may result in subsequent codification of those principles or interpret existing treaty obligations. The paper then contemplates why states are utilizing soft law in international environmental law and discusses issues regarding compliance with non-binding soft law. The paper concludes that the complicated nature of the international system prevents a prediction of the extent to which states will use and enforce hard or soft law

Commitment and Compliance: The Role of Non-Binding Norms in the International Legal System (Introduction)

The introductory chapter of this book describes a study undertaken to determine the extent to which states comply with non-binding legal principles as compared to rules of law and focused on environmental soft law. The leaders of the study provided four factors they predicted would have an effect on compliance with soft law: institutional setting, regional diversity, the type of obligation, and generality and specificity. The chapter next describes the international legal system and its recent expansion, then describes a variety of methods for resolving international issues. Next, the chapter notes a few possible reasons why states prefer to undertake international obligations in terms of soft law and concludes that soft law’s role in the international system is increasing

An Introduction to the History of International Human Rights Law

As part of a lecture series given at the International Institute of Human Rights, in Strasbourg, France, in July 2003, the author presents an overview of the history of international human rights law. The author explores numerous religious, political, cultural, philosophical, economic and intellectual movements throughout history that have informed and guided the development of human rights law on the global stage. In doing so, the author examines the moral and ethical dimensions which underpin international human rights law, including what she defines as the innate human desire for protection from abuse. The author highlights the world\u27s most significant historical events and people who have influenced modern concepts of human rights law. Despite the many successes of the human rights movement, the author draws attention to international institutions established to protect human rights, which are often too weak to address many contemporary human rights violations and atrocities occurring in failed states or at the hands of non-state actors. As this area of international law continues to develop, these shortcomings must be addressed if human rights progress is to continue

The Impact of Economic Globalization On Compliance

The introductory chapter of this book begins by defining globalization and the novel notion of the “common concern of humanity” and describes the ethical, cultural, and economic considerations underlying protection of the biosphere. The chapter describes the evolution of the common concern of humanity in depth and describes the increased presence of international organizations. Next, the chapter introduces the Marrakesh Charter and its corresponding economic principles. The chapter concludes that there exists the need to create an international liability system for both states and individuals for environmental degradation caused by international trade

Standard-Setting by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights: An Overview from its Inception in 1947 until the Creation of the Human Rights Council in 2006

This article discusses the standard-setting role of the Commission and Sub-Commission of the United Nations. The article describes the creation of the Commission, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Commission’s art in creating human rights treaties, and the use of non-binding instruments and other methods of standard-setting. The article concludes that the Commission accomplished a moderate amount and argues that the UN must retain an independent body to ensure protection of human rights

Litigating a Rights-Based Approach to Climate Change

Most discussions of a rights-based approach to the environmental crises facing the planet have centered on demanding that governments take action to prevent or mitigate environmental harm that diminishes, for those within their territory and jurisdiction, the enjoyment of internationally-guaranteed human rights. Yet, the consequences of pollution -- especially anthropogenic climate change due to greenhouse gas emissions -- are not confined within the boundaries of a single state: pollution knows no boundaries. Instead, throughout the world, individuals, communities and entire nations face significant threats to their wellbeing and even their lives from climate change and its effects. A key fact in the human rights dimension of climate change is that anthropogenic climate change has and will continue to have its most devastating impacts on poor and minority communities and countries, on those who are least responsible for creating the problem. These serious consequences already being felt demand consideration of whether governments commit violations of internationally recognized human rights when they fail to control or reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. This paper attempts to assess two potential avenues for pressing rights-based claims, the first being individual or group petitions to international human rights bodies. The second potential proceeding is an inter-state complaint on behalf of the human rights of affected individuals and communities joined to an action to protect national resources and territory

The Legal Status of Normative Pronouncements of Human Rights Treaty Bodies

This essay examines international human rights treaties and the statements that tribunals and other organizations make about them. Next, the essay discusses the general non-binding nature of treaties and describes use of General Comments and other interpretive statements. The essay concludes that increasing unofficial commentary on human rights organs’ decisions and increased compliance will encourage more states to comply and make it “increasingly difficult for a single state to hold out.

Developing Substantive Environmental Rights

Human rights tribunals facing claims of violations stemming from environmental degradation are increasingly incorporating and applying national and international environmental standards to assess whether or not the government in question has complied with its legal obligations. The government is required to comply with whatever environmental laws it has enacted as well as treaties to which it is a party. Furthermore the tribunals will assess, albeit with considerable deference, whether or not the environmental laws set the level of protection too low to allow the enjoyment of guaranteed human rights, in some instances drawing on the precautionary principle and other concepts from environmental law