Acid Rain and Ozone Layer Depletion: International Law and Regulation

Although international customary and conventional law have addressed aspects of transfrontier pollution problems for decades,\u27 the regional and global environmental degradations which have come to the forefront in the 1980s and 1990s - acid rain, ozone depletion, and global warming, to name but three - represent new challenges to existing international law institutions and concepts. In a sense, the world has over the past two centuries gone through a period of what could be called technological adolescence , as individuals and corporations, largely from industrialized nations, exploited the earth\u27s resources with little if any concern for the immediate and long-term implications of their actions. In the face of evermounting and ominous evidence of the seriously ill health of the planet, there has been growing recognition that there are limits to what the earth can provide as well as responsibilities associated with the use of its resources. The as yet unanswered question is whether the structures and concepts of international law developed to this point are or will be adequate to contend with the serious threats to the world\u27s environment which lie ahead

ISO 26000: Bridging the Public/Private Divide in Transnational Business Governance Interactions

This paper explores the proposition that the ISO 26000 social responsibility guidance standard represents an innovative form of global social responsibility (SR) rule instrument that performs five key distinctive bridging functions in addressing public and private transnational business governance interactions: (1) top down transpositions of key concepts from inter-governmental instruments directed at first instance at states into a non-state global SR rule instrument applying directly to transnational corporations (TNCs) and other organizations, (2) bottom up transpositions of key concepts from non-state SR instruments of narrow focus to apply more broadly to all SR activities, (3) innovations in the standards development process, to bridge and bring together a diverse range of key public sector, private sector and civil society actors (including SR instrument competitors), thus forming a key basis for its characterization as an influential statement of the global community concerning the appropriate behaviour of TNCs and other organizations, (4) design of the instrument as a framework normative document intended for use by public sector, private sector and civil society actors, compatible and aligned with other key global SR instruments, and (5) characterization of ISO 26000 as emerging global SR custom, to be applied by domestic governments, courts, and others, to address behaviour of TNCs and other organizations

ISO 26000: Bridging the Public/Private Divide in Transnational Business Governance Interactions

This paper explores the proposition that the ISO 26000 social responsibility guidance standard represents an innovative form of global social responsibility (SR) rule instrument that performs five key distinctive bridging functions in addressing public and private transnational business governance interactions: (1) top down transpositions of key concepts from inter-­‐governmental instruments directed at first instance at states into a non-­‐state global SR rule instrument applying directly to transnational corporations (TNCs) and other organizations; (2) bottom up transpositions of key concepts from non-­‐state SR instruments of narrow focus to apply more broadly to all SR activities; (3) innovations in the standards development process, to bridge and bring together a diverse range of key public sector, private sector and civil society actors (including SR instrument competitors), thus forming a key basis for its characterization as an influential statement of the global community concerning the appropriate behaviour of TNCs and other organizations; (4) design of the instrument as a framework normative document intended for use by public sector, private sector and civil society actors, compatible and aligned with other key global SR instruments; and (5) characterization of ISO 26000 as emerging global SR custom, to be applied by domestic governments, courts, and others, to address behaviour of TNCs and other organizations

ISO 26000: Bridging the Public/Private Divide in Transnational Business Governance Interactions

This paper explores the proposition that the ISO 26000 social responsibility guidance standard represents an innovative form of global social responsibility (SR) rule instrument that performs five key distinctive bridging functions in addressing public and private transnational business governance interactions: (1) top down transpositions of key concepts from inter-­‐governmental instruments directed at first instance at states into a non-­‐state global SR rule instrument applying directly to transnational corporations (TNCs) and other organizations; (2) bottom up transpositions of key concepts from non-­‐state SR instruments of narrow focus to apply more broadly to all SR activities; (3) innovations in the standards development process, to bridge and bring together a diverse range of key public sector, private sector and civil society actors (including SR instrument competitors), thus forming a key basis for its characterization as an influential statement of the global community concerning the appropriate behaviour of TNCs and other organizations; (4) design of the instrument as a framework normative document intended for use by public sector, private sector and civil society actors, compatible and aligned with other key global SR instruments; and (5) characterization of ISO 26000 as emerging global SR custom, to be applied by domestic governments, courts, and others, to address behaviour of TNCs and other organizations

Acid Rain and Ozone Layer Depletion: International Law and Regulation

Although international customary and conventional law have addressed aspects of transfrontier pollution problems for decades,\u27 the regional and global environmental degradations which have come to the forefront in the 1980s and 1990s - acid rain, ozone depletion, and global warming, to name but three - represent new challenges to existing international law institutions and concepts. In a sense, the world has over the past two centuries gone through a period of what could be called technological adolescence , as individuals and corporations, largely from industrialized nations, exploited the earth\u27s resources with little if any concern for the immediate and long-term implications of their actions. In the face of evermounting and ominous evidence of the seriously ill health of the planet, there has been growing recognition that there are limits to what the earth can provide as well as responsibilities associated with the use of its resources. The as yet unanswered question is whether the structures and concepts of international law developed to this point are or will be adequate to contend with the serious threats to the world\u27s environment which lie ahead