CHAPTER 2

Environmental Law
LAW 573
UiTM
 Types of International Law
 Sources:
 Treaties and conventions
 Declarations
 International court decisions and international
arbitration
 Customary international law
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1. Treaties and convention
 Agreements made between two or more

countries.
 Adopted through the United Nations (UN)
 E.g. Convention Concerning the Protection of the
World Natural and Cultural Heritage 1972.
 Parties to the convention agree to protect their own
heritage through legal, scientific and financial means.
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2. Declarations
• Do not provide binding obligations on countries but
often contain significant statements about
environmental rights at international level.
• Provide basis for future treaties and conventions
 E.g. Stockholm Declaration which resulted in the
Conference on Human Environment in Stockholm in
1972.
 Principle 21 recognises a state’s right to exploit its own
resources but also imposes a duty on a state not to cause
damage to the environment of other states or to the global
commons.
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 The Rio Declaration 1992 (Earth Charter or Earth Summit) is a
non binding declaration of rights and obligations on environment
and development.
 Adopted Agenda 21 which covers 115 programme areas with
reference to environmental issues.

3. International Court of Justice (ICJ) and International

Arbitration
 The main court of the UN. Consists of 15 judges representing the
various geographic, social and political differences.
 Not all national governments have agreed to take part in the ICJ
proceedings.
 If a nation has decided to submit to the ICJ jurisdiction, it must
comply with the court’s decision.
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4. Customary International Law
• Not contained in convention/treaties
• Develops from traditional practices.
• The principle has developed that one state owes a
duty to stop acts which would cause harm in another
state (e.g. transboundary pollution).
• The duty of a state to inform other states of activities
posing a risk of environmental harm (nuclear plant
in Chernobyl in Ukraine and Sosnovy Bor in Russia.
 The United Nations (UN)
 Much of the impetus for international
environment law has come from the UN.
 Came into being after the 2nd World War on 24
October 1945.
 It is governed by a charter which is binding on
member states.
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1. The United Nations Environmental Programme

(UNEP)
• Most important UN agency that deals with the
environment.
• It undertakes scientific studies determine problem
areas and how best to protect the environment.
• Runs programmes concerned with threatened
species, genetic resources and outstanding
ecosystems.
• 1972 Stockholms Declaration World Charter for
Nature and UNEP’s 2000 and Beyond.
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2. Environmental Issues and other UN Agencies
a. World Health Organisation (WHO)
 Tries to attain the highest possible level of health for all
people.
b. Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO)
 Aims to improve the production and distribution of
agricultural products – ecologically sound methods of
production and ways to prevent the erosion of the valuable
farmland.
c. The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
(UNESCO)
 Tries to raise the world’s awareness of environmental problems
and issues.
 To enhance educational and scientific development.
 Environmental Issues and other
International Agencies
1. The World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary
Fund (IMF)
 To promote international monetary cooperation
especially between industrialised and developing
countries.
 Supporting environmentally sound projects and
policies.
2. The World Commission on Environment and
Development (WCED)
• An independent body to write a report about the state of
environment and development in the world
• 1987 Our Common Future or the Brundtland Report.
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3. The International Law Commission (ILC)
• To promote the progressive development of
international law and its codification.
• E.g. the laws of environmental protection and
pollution of international watercourses.
4. A New World Court for the Environment
• Has yet to materialise although many countries have
established their nation’s environmental court.
 The Role of Non-Governmental
Organisation (NGOs) at the
International Level
 Greenpeace International and Friends of the
Earth.
• Can get consultative status at the UN by going
through approval process by the UN
• Can send representative to UN’s meetings
• Can address the UN but not allowed to vote
 Trying to influence the behaviour of nations so
that decisions are made at the international
level to protect the environment.
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 In 1992 Greenpeace had a budget of 42 million dollars.
Membership of 2.5 million in US.
• Campaign against Driftnet fishing which involves fishing with
several kilometers of fine nylon gill net. Captures everything in its
path.
 The International Union for the Conservation of Nature
(IUCN)s
• Formed in 1948 as an independent organisation to promote the
wise use of the earth natural resources
• Membership of governments, governments’ agencies and NGOs
from over 111 countries
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora, the Agreement on the Conservation of the Polar
Bears, and the Convention of Migratory Species of Wild Animals.
 International Environmental Issues and
Law
1. Pollution
• Transboundary Pollution. The Trail Smelter case in 1941.
Sulphur dioxide fumes from Canadian Smelter were carried
by the wind across the border into the US and caused
damage.
• The international arbitration tribunal accepted the principles
that ‘a state has a duty to protect other states against
injurious acts by individuals from within its jurisdiction’.
• Ultra violet radiation (depletion of the stratospheric ozone
layer)-the Vienna Convention on the Ozone Layer in 1985.
• The Protocol on Substance that Deplete the Ozone Layer
1987 (Montreal Protocol)-to reduce the chlorofluorocarbon
(CFCs) production by 50% in 1999.
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2. Whaling and Driftnetting
• 1946 Convention for the Regulation of Whaling
• The international Whaling Commission decides what
species of whale are listed and hence protected.
• Annual catch quota is set for each species.
3. Wetland Protection
• Provides an essential habitat to many species of
plants and animals and valuable breeding grounds
for fish and insect.
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• The Convention on Wetland of International
Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitats (e.g.
birds that frequent water known as the Ramsar
Convention 1971).
• Tasek Bera in Pahang.
4. The World Cultural and Natural Heritage
• Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural
and Natural Heritage was adopted in 1972.
• Provide framework for the protection of areas of
‘outstanding universal value’.
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• Areas on the World Heritage List include:
 Pyramids of Egypt
 The statute of Liberty USA
 The Acropolis in Greece
 Hawaii Volcanoes Natural Park
• Malaysia:
 Archaeological Heritage of Lenggong Valley
 Gunung Mulu National Park
 Kinabalu Park
 Melaka and George Town.
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5. Endangered Species
• The Convention on International Trade Endangered
Species of Wild Flora and Faunna 1973 (CITES)
 Regulated international trade on wild animals and
plants which are listed in 3 separate appendixes in the
convention.
 To protect endangered species which are traded around
d the world .
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6. Antarctica
• 12 countries conducted scientific research in the area
entered into the Antarctica Treaty in 1959.
• Provided that Antarctica must be used for peaceful
purposes only. It banned nuclear weapons and
military activities from the region.
• Madrid Protocol 1991
 Deals with many environmental matters including
marine pollution, waste disposal and protection of
flora and fauna. It bars mining and mineral
exploration in Antarctica for 50 years.
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• The Convention of Antarctic Seals 1972
• The Convention on Antarctic Marine Living
Resources 1980
 References
1. Associate Prof. Dr. Norha A Hanifah, ‘ A
Student Guide For Environmental Law,’ 2019.
2. Brundtland Report 1987.
3. Caring the Earth: A Strategy for Sustainable
Living, 1991.
4. Career Path.com.
5. Environmental Defender’s Office NSW,
‘Environmental Law Tool Kit,’ 1999.