Law Commons^™

The President, The Environment, And Foreign Policy: The Globalization Of Environmental Politics, David A. Wirth

David A. Wirth

By comparison with domestic environmental issues, international environmental diplomacy is distinguished by the far greater role of the Executive Branch, and in particular the President, in making law. This essay explores the legal consequences of the President's dual role in international environmental diplomacy: his duty faithfully to execute statutory mandates adopted by Congress while also serving as the Nation's chief diplomat and negotiator of international agreements with foreign powers. The piece discusses the legal and policy dynamics surrounding two concrete examples affecting domestic and international environmental policy, in which Presidential power assumes dramatically different forms: (1) climate change, and in …

Marine Mammals And International Trade: Balancing Social Conscience With Trade Obligations – A Summary And Update On The World Trade Organization Seal Products Dispute, Chad J. Mcguire

Chad J McGuire

Iron Ocean Fertilization And International Law, David Freestone, Rosemary Rayfuse

Rosemary Rayfuse

Intentional ocean fertilisation and the commercial sale of associated carbon offsets raise a number of issues in international law. On the one hand states are obliged to adopt adaptation and mitigation measures to prevent dangerous climate change. On the other hand, international law obliges states to protect and preserve the marine environment and to act in a precautionary manner in the face of scientific uncertainty. This article examines the application of the international law of the sea to ocean fertilisation, with particular reference to the dumping regime which prohibits the dumping of wastes or other materials from vessels into the …

Warm Waters And Cold Shoulders: Jostling For Jurisdiction In Polar Oceans, Rosemary Rayfuse

Rosemary Rayfuse

In May 2008 the five Arctic coastal states adopted the Ilullisat Declaration in which they asserted their role as stewards, for the international community, of the Arctic Ocean ecosystem. This paper discusses the legal basis for their claim to stewardship with particular reference to the high seas portion of the central Arctic Ocean, and their assertion that no need exists for a new comprehensive legal regime in respect of those high seas waters. It is argued that while the high seas regime of the Arctic may be extensive, it is not comprehensive. Thus, the legitimacy of the claim to stewardship …

Australia And Climate Change Diplomacy: Towards A Post-2012 Regime – Policy Proposals On Australia’S Climate Change Diplomacy, Rosemary Rayfuse, Shirley Scott

Rosemary Rayfuse

A workshop on Australia and Climate Change Diplomacy: Towards a Post-Kyoto Regime (the Workshop) was held at the Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales on 22-23 November 2007. The purpose of the Workshop was to evaluate Australia’s past and current climate change diplomacy and to make policy recommendations for the future. The interdisciplinary Workshop brought together 19 leading experts in economics, science, international relations, law, and business. The majority were academics, but the group also included private consultants and NGO representatives from Australia with one visitor from China. The Workshop was organised and hosted by Associate Professor Rosemary …

Regional Allocation Issues Or Zen And The Art Of Pie Cutting, Rosemary Rayfuse

Rosemary Rayfuse

Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) have increasingly become the mechanism of choice through which high seas fisheries are to be managed. How these organisations allocate fishing opportunities for the dwindling resources under their jurisdiction is, however, a difficult and often controversial issue. Achieving equitable, scientifically reliable and sustainable allocations as between members and as between members and non-members has serious implications for the operational efficacy and legitimacy of an RFMO and its management regime. This paper examines the allocation practices adopted in RFMOs in the context of the tension between state sovereignty and the development of rules of international law …

Innovations In Governance: A Functional Typology Of Private Governance Institutions, Tracey M. Roberts

Tracey M Roberts

Communities are increasingly looking to private governance institutions, rather than formal government, to set public policy and to manage the environmental and social impacts of globalization. Private governance institutions, sets of rules and structures for governing without government, remain undertheorized despite an expanding literature. Questions remain about why they have arisen, what functions they serve, and whether they are effective. This article advances that literature in several ways. First, the article outlines the inherent limitations of the conventional taxonomy, which groups these institutions based on the identity of their constituent organizations (business interests, civil society, and government entities and their …

Learning From The Global Trade Regime: A Proposal To Help Ameliorate Climate Change By Giving The International Court Of Justice Universal Advisory Jurisdiction, Andrew Strauss

Andrew L. Strauss

No abstract provided.

The Global Politics Of Food: Introduction To The Theoretical Perspectives Cluster, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Carmen G. Gonzalez

The corporate-dominated, fossil-fuel dependent model of agricultural production has produced chronic undernourishment, an epidemic of obesity and diet-related diseases, and unprecedented ecological devastation. In May 2010, the Universidad Interamericana in Mexico City hosted an international conference on The Global Politics of Food: Sustainability and Subordination. Sponsored by Latina and Latino Critical Legal Theory, Inc. and by Seattle University School of Law, the conference took place under the auspices of the South-North Exchange on Theory, Culture and Law (SNX), a yearly gathering of scholars in the Americas that seeks to foster transnational, cross-disciplinary and inter-cultural dialogue on current issues in law, …

Environmental Federalism: Historical Roots And Contemporary Models, Robert V. Percival

Robert Percival

No abstract provided.

Who's Afraid Of The Precautionary Principle?, Robert V. Percival

Robert Percival

The precautionary principle – the notion that lack of scientific certainty should not foreclose precautionary regulation – has become enormously popular in recent years, as reflected by its endorsement in many important international declarations and agreements. Despite its growing influence, the precautionary principle recently has come under fire by critics who argue that it is incoherent, potentially paralyzing, and that it will lead regulators to make bad choices. They maintain that society faces greater peril from overly costly regulations than from exposure to sources of environmental risks whose effect on human health and the environment is not fully understood at …

Responding To Environmental Risk: A Pluralistic Perspective, Robert V. Percival

Robert Percival

No abstract provided.

Escaping The Common Law's Shadow: Standing In The Light Of Laidlaw, Robert V. Percival, Joanna B. Goger

Robert Percival

No abstract provided.

Water Pollution Control: Lessons From Transnational Experience, Robert V. Percival

Robert Percival

Water is fundamental to life, as reflected in space scientists' compulsive search for signs of its presence when scrutinizing other planets for possible life forms. Fortunately for our species, more than two-thirds of our planet is covered with water, creating an environment richly conducive to life. Humans have just begun to appreciate how precious earth's water resources are and how vulnerable they are to damage from human activity. Efforts to protect earth's water resources from contamination have been among the most prominent catalysts for the development of environmental law thoroughout the world. After surveying this experience, this paper finds that …

El Surgimiento Del Derecho Ambiental Global, Robert V. Percival

Robert Percival

Legal systems across the globe are responding to environmental concerns in surprising new ways. As nations upgrade their environmental standards, some are transplanting law and regulatory policy innovations derived from the experience of other countries, including nations with very different legal and cultural traditions. New national, regional, and international initiatives have been undertaken both by governments and private organizations. Greater cross-border collaboration between government officials, nongovernmental organizations, multinational corporations and other entities is shaping environmental policy in ways that blur traditional private/public land domestic/international distinctions. The result has been the emergence of a kind of “global environmental law” – law …

Conservation And Renewable Energy Sources As Supply Alternatives For New York's Electric Utilities, Robert V. Percival

Robert Percival

No abstract provided.

Resolución De Conflictos Ambientales: Lecciones Aprendidas De La Historia De La Contaminación De Las Fundiciones De Minerales, Robert V. Percival

Robert Percival

No abstract provided.

Energy Security, Green Job Creation, And Youth Innovation, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Global energy demand is likely to increase by 45 percent by 2030. Climate change will threaten existing employment and necessitate new green jobs. Funding has gone towards such renewable energy technologies as wind and solar; such fuel economy options as second-generation hybrids, plug-in electrics, and fuel cell vehicles; increased appliance efficiency; and such water-efficient farming methods as drip irrigation. Youth innovation can play a powerful role in achieving sustainable development. Nobel Peace Prize winner Professor Muhammad Yunus has demonstrated how micro finance in the form of small loans can help poor people start or expand entrepreneurial endeavors. Government funded research …

Water Is Security, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Reasonable and equitable water resource decision-making is at the core of good governance around the world. Sustained water collaboration is an antidote to foreign relations disintegration. Lack of water quality and quantity policies can lead to water insecurity for everyone, yet bureaucratic obstacles such as inertia and corruption must be averted in altering water governance schemes. There are multiple ways to lower transaction costs and strive for optimal water use. Several ingredients of good water governance include: (1) broad participation through the entire decision-making process; (2) transparent flow of information; (3) equitable opportunities to increase well-being; (4) accountability from governments, …

A Climate Of Extremes: Transboundary Conflict Resolution, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

This Article examines evolving climate change policy. In April 2007 Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency clarified that the EPA has the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. This Supreme Court ruling coincided with the United Nations Security Council's decision to put climate change on its agenda. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has found that anthropogenic climate change has impacted the natural world and human societies. Scientific and governmental consensus has coalesced that multilateral climate mitigation and adaptation must be implemented. International institutions, governments, businesses, non-governmental organizations, and civil society can achieve multilateral greenhouse gas mitigation and climate adaptation.

Un Regard Extérieur: Back Impact Of European Union Legislation On American Environmental Regulations, David Wirth

David A. Wirth

No abstract provided.

The Eu's New Impact On American Environmental Regulation, David Wirth

David A. Wirth

Due to its increasing size and growing regulatory momentum, the European Union is quickly becoming an alternative power center to the United States in the field of environmental policy. Within the past several years, there has consequently been an emerging and discernible trend of EU policy and law on the environmental laws and policy of United States. This piece explores the new European chemicals legislation on Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) as one example of this back impact. Because REACH will affect virtually all multinational corporations, its impacts will be global, including the United States. The article explores …

Contributing Author, David Wirth

David A. Wirth

No abstract provided.

Environmental Law And Policy: Nature, Law, And Society, David Wirth, Zygmunt Plater

David A. Wirth

No abstract provided.

Unilateral Trade-Based Measures For Protection Of The Marine Environment: A Legal And Policy Perspective, David Wirth, Douglas Caldwell

David A. Wirth

No abstract provided.

Precaution In International Environmental Policy And United States Law And Practice, David Wirth

David A. Wirth

No abstract provided.

Current Developments: The Sixth Session (Part Two) And Seventh Session Of The Conference Of The Parties To The Framework Convention On Climate Change, David A. Wirth

David A. Wirth

No abstract provided.

International Decisions. European Communities -- Measures Affecting Asbestos And Asbestos-Containing Products, David A. Wirth

David A. Wirth

No abstract provided.

Escaping The Common Law's Shadow: Standing In The Light Of Laidlaw, Robert Percival

Robert Percival

No abstract provided.

Teaching And Research In International Environmental Law, David A. Wirth

David A. Wirth

No abstract provided.