Digital Commons Network^™

Private Certification Versus Public Certification In The International Environmental Arena, Patricia A. Moye

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In recent decades, the world's various fisheries have seen a number of problems, primarily depletion of fish stocks due to overfishing. While the UN has created some soft law, including sustainable fishing standards, to deal with the problem of fisheries depletion, no binding international laws currently exist. Several entities have decided to deal with the problem on their own, through eco-labeling programs. The Marine Stewardship Council, a private entity not directly affiliated with the government of any country, has created such a program. In addition, some governments have created similar programs, including Japan through its Marine Eco-Label Japan program. While …

Arctic Warming: Environmental, Human, And Security Implications, Mary B. West

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Arctic warming has myriad implications for the Arctic environment, residents, and nations. Although definitive predictions are difficult, without question the scope and rapidity of change will test the adaptive capacities of the Arctic environment as well as its residents. Warming is affecting marine ecosystems and marine life, terrestrial ecosystems, and the animals and people who depend on them. Human impacts include effects on access to food and resources; health and well being; and community cohesion, traditions, and culture. Increased shipping and resource activity create the need for additional maritime presence and security; better environmental and safety regulations; peaceful resolution of …

Who Controls The Northwest Passage?, Michael Byers, Suzanne Lalonde

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

From Martin Frobisher in 1576 to John Franklin in 1845, generations of European explorers searched for a navigable route through the Arctic islands to Asia. Their greatest challenge was sea-ice, which has almost always filled the straits, even in summer. Climate change, however, is fundamentally altering the sea-ice conditions: In September 2007, the Northwest Passage was ice-free for the first time in recorded history. This Article reviews the consequences of this development, particularly in terms of the security and environmental risks that would result from international shipping along North America's longest coast. It analyzes the differing positions of Canada and …

Protection, Not Protectionism: Multilateral Environmental Agreements And The Gatt, Betsy Baker

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In this Article, Dean Baker examines the compatibility of multilateral environmental agreements with the provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The author discusses the key provisions of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the GATT. The author then reviews the conflict between unilateral environmental protection and open and free trade under the GATT. The author concludes the collective interests represented by international environmental agreements, and the agreements themselves, should provide a …

The Environmental Laws And Policies Of Taiwan: A Comparative Law Perspective, Dennis T. Tang

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article discusses the development of environmental regulation and preservation in Taiwan in light of United States environmental law. The Article begins with a discussion of how few measures have been enacted to protect the Taiwanese environment. It then illuminates some of the problems with the Taiwanese environmental regulations that do exist. According to the author, some of these problems include: ambiguous and conflicting goals enunciated in the legislation; political pressures on the authorities influencing environmental policies; poor enforcement mechanisms; a legislative bias in favor of regulating new sources of pollution and against enforcing regulations in the case of old …

Vessel-Source Pollution And The Law Of The Sea, John W. Kindt

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

On March 16, 1978, history's worst oil spill occurred when the tanker Amoco Cadiz lost her steering and drifted onto rocky shoals off the French coast. Approximately 223,000 tons of oil were spilled, polluting and ruining over 100 miles of the Brittany coast, an area that previously had supplied one-third of France's seafood and had attracted tourists from all over Europe. Despite all this damage, only thirty million dollars was available for cleanup--none to repair the ecological devastation. Although this well-publicized accident shocked the world, it was only one of many oil spills that occurred during 1978.

By definition, "vessel-source …

Book Reviews, Horace B. Robertson, Jr., W. David Slawson

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The New Nationalism and the Use of Common Spaces: Issues in Marine Pollution and the Exploitation of Antarctica Edited by J. Charney Totowa, New Jersey: Allenheld Osmun, 1982.Pp. ix, 343.

Reviewed by Horace B. Robertson, Jr.

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Law and Inflation By Keith S. Rosenn Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982. Pp. xxxix, 451.

Reviewed by W. David Slawson

The Role Of Unilateral State Action In Preventing International Environmental Injury, Richard B. Bilder

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This discussion suggests that unilateral state action to prevent international environmental injury is likely to play an important and continuing role in efforts to deal with international environmental problems. It also suggests the futility of attempting to characterize unilateral action as inherently either desirable or undesirable. While multilateral actions seem generally preferable to unilateral action, effective multilateral arrangement in many cases may not be practically attainable. Unilateral action may be the only feasible alternative to inaction. Under these circumstances, a respectable argument can be made for the propriety of unilateral action on at least an interim basis pending achievement of …

Jurisdiction--Territorial Waters--Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act, Gilbert T. Davis

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

On June 17, 1970, Canada passed the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act which asserts jurisdiction over Arctic waters 100 miles off her coasts for the purpose of pollution prevention regulation. The Act proscribes any discharge of waste into Arctic waters, and prohibits navigation in certain "shipping safety control zones" in Arctic waters unless regulations pertaining to structural, equipment, navigational aid, cargo, and personnel qualification standards are met. Given the conflict between the traditional freedom of the seas and the seriousness of the ocean pollution problem, the Canadian action is likely to provoke much controversy.