Law Commons^™

Looking To The Practices Of Transnational Corporations To Protect The Global Environment: A New Theory Of Custom In International Environmental Law, Matthew Thurmer

Matthew A Thurmer Mr.

To a large extent, international environmental law has been unsuccessful. As a result, new and creative thinking is needed to protect the global environment. This paper, in particular, considers an approach to customary international law that is based on the practices of transnational corporations (TNCs) rather than the practices of states. Of course, many TNCs are harming the Earth. Thus, the state must regulate these multinational companies to establish practices that are environmentally sound. If enough states pass and enforce such laws, then at some point a rule of custom will arise that can protect the global environment.

The Future We Want And Constitutionally Enshrined Procedural Rights In Environmental Matters, James May, Erin Daly

Erin Daly

No abstract provided.

Mechanisms To Control The Fulfillment Of The Eu Sustainability Criteria For Transport Biofuels In Directive 2009/28/Ec, Evgenia Pavlovskaia

Evgenia Pavlovskaia

To function efficiently, a framework in environmental law should contain certain mechanisms or supplementary elements that facilitate the implementation and enforcement of environmental regulations, for example such mechanisms and elements that answer for the control and supervision of the legislated requirements. Appropriately organized control mechanisms are important for a legal framework to function as it has been aimed for and to fulfill its purposes. The present article is focused on the analysis of the mechanisms chosen to control the fulfillment of the European Union (EU) sustainability criteria for transport biofuels, which have been presented in Directive 2009/28/EC. The analysis is …

Inclusionary Eminent Domain, Gerald S. Dickinson

Gerald S. Dickinson

This article proposes a paradigm shift in takings law, namely “inclusionary eminent domain.” This new normative concept – paradoxical in nature – rethinks eminent domain as an inclusionary land assembly framework that is equipped with multiple tools to help guide municipalities, private developers and communities construct or preserve affordable housing developments. Analogous to inclusionary zoning, inclusionary eminent domain helps us think about how to fix the “exclusionary eminent domain” phenomenon of displacing low-income families by assembling and negotiating the use of land – prior to, during or after condemnation proceedings – to accommodate affordable housing where condemnation threatens to decrease …

The Eu Policy For Sustainable Transport Biofuels And Directive 2009/28/Ec From A Legal Perspective, Evgenia Pavlovskaia

Evgenia Pavlovskaia

The enforcement and implementation of separate aspects of sustainable development and environmental sustainability can be challenging and innovative due to the complexity of this task. Appropriate policy and legal approaches and tools can be needed for this purpose. In this article, the European Union (EU) experience of developing the framework for sustainable transport biofuels and special structural elements for its enforcement are highlighted and analyzed. The central legal acts in this area, including Directive 2003/30/EC, Directive 2009/30/EC and Directive 2009/28/EC are explored. Advantages and disadvantages of the EU approach to sustainable transport biofuels are discussed. Suggestions for the future development …

Introducing The ‘Reconciliatory Approach’ – Harmonizing International Environmental Law With Other Specialised Areas Of International Law, Britta Sjöstedt

Britta Sjöstedt

In this paper, I argue that international environmental treaties can interact with other specialised areas of law applicable to the same subject matter in the same context by using the ‘reconciliatory approach’ (RA). This approach entails that the institutions established under the environmental treaties are empowered to develop the treaty provisions in a manner that may also take other legal areas into account and thereby be able to reconcile obligations of other specialised legal areas. The RA functions on the premise that international law is one system with the inherent ambition to coherently systematize its norms. By looking at the …

Oil & Gas Pooling, Gina Warren

Gina Warren

No abstract provided.

Harmonizing The International And Domestic Law Of Climate Change In The United States: An Executive Agreement On Climate?, David Wirth

David A. Wirth

No abstract provided.

How Environmental Review Can Generate Pollution: A Case Study, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

State environmental review statutes often require state and local governments to draft an environmental impact statement for any project or permit that might have a substantial environmental impact. One such statute, New York's State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) defines “environmental impact” broadly to include not only traditionally environmental impacts such as pollution, but also social impacts such as increased neighborhood population. As a result, any large-scale development is likely to require environmental review under SEQRA.

In my article, I argue that such stringency harms air quality by discouraging infill development (that is, development in already-urbanized areas). Such development is …

The Potential Of Multilateral Environmental Agreements To Protect In Relation To Armed Conflict, Britta Sjöstedt

Britta Sjöstedt

This paper is provided for a seminar included in the UN International Law Commission (ILC) Seminars. The seminar deals with the important topic “Protection of the Environment in relation to Armed Conflict” that was put on the ILC’s current agenda of programme in May 2013. In this paper, I will share some of my comments on the new topic at ILC’s agenda. These focus on the potential of multilateral environmental agreements. The destructive activities taking place in relation to armed conflict can cause irreversible impacts on the environment. They can destruct important ecosystems, poison watercourses and extinct species. Keeping in …

Hydropower: It's A Small World After All, Gina Warren

Gina Warren

No abstract provided.

How Safe Is That Shrimp? The Food Safety Modernization Act, David Wirth

David A. Wirth

No abstract provided.

A New Progressive Agenda For Public Health And The Environment, Christopher Schroeder, Rena Steinzor

Rena I. Steinzor

Over the last quarter century, much of the focus of federal regulatory policy in the areas of health, safety, and the environment has been gradually redirected away from protecting Americans against various harms and toward protecting corporate interests from the plain meaning of protective statutes. This book delivers precisely what its title promises, a re-imagining of federal policy in these areas, with particular focus on the regulatory process. It identifies the failings of the current approach to regulation and proposes innovative, straightforward, and practical solutions for the 21st Century. The book is a collaboration among the Member Scholars of the …

Sea Level Rise And Maritime Zones: Preserving The Maritime Entitlements Of ‘Disappearing’ States, Rosemary Rayfuse

Rosemary Rayfuse

No abstract provided.

War And The Environment: International Law And The Protection Of The Environment In Relation To Anned Conffict — Introduction To The Special Issue, Rosemary Rayfuse

Rosemary Rayfuse

No abstract provided.

Committee On Climate Change, Sustainable Development, And Ecosystems: 2012 Annual Report, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

No abstract provided.

Using Sustainability Criteria For Biofuels In A Legal Context - An Analysis Based On The Eu Policy For Transport Biofuels, Evgenia Pavlovskaia

Evgenia Pavlovskaia

Sustainable quality of biofuels and their production methods should be seen as a part of the wider concept “sustainability”. Sustainability of biofuels should be measured in relation to resources and possibilities that the Earth can supply us with. This presentation focuses on sustainability criteria in their function to promote sustainability in a legal context, followed by the analysis of the binding EU regulations for transport biofuels as an example. Two main issues are examined: - the concept of sustainability criteria, special features of their use in law and aspects relevant for their practical implementation, and - the issue of control …

Silent Spring At 50, Andrew Morriss

Andrew P. Morriss

No abstract provided.

Combat Strategies And The Law Of War In The Age Of Terrorism, David Wirth

David A. Wirth

Analysis of the need for new rules of engagement and a modified understanding of the law of war as a result of the war on terror

Green Jobs, Andrew Morriss

Andrew P. Morriss

No abstract provided.

Green Jobs: Trick Or Treat?, Andrew Morriss

Andrew P. Morriss

No abstract provided.

The Transatlantic Gmo Dispute Against The European Communities, David Wirth

David A. Wirth

No abstract provided.

Climate Engineering, David Wirth

David A. Wirth

No abstract provided.

How Safe Is That Shrimp? The Food Safety Modernization Act, David Wirth

David A. Wirth

No abstract provided.

Acting As If Tomorrow Matters: Accelerating The Transition To Sustainability, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

No abstract provided.

The Ecuadorian Exemplar: The First Ever Vindications Of Constitutional Rights Of Nature, Erin Daly

Erin Daly

The 'Sala de le Corte Provincial' - a provincial court in Ecuador - became the first court ever to vindicate the recently constitutionalized rights of nature. Recognizing the indisputable importance of the rights of nature for present and future generations, the court held the provincial government liable for flooding damages caused by dumping of construction debris. This judicial victory is arguably overshadowed by challenges facing the plaintiffs in seeing the courts order enforced, however. A subsequent case bears witness to the judiciary’s vindication of rights of nature in Ecuador with ever increasing legal effect.

The Role Of Multilateral Environmental Agreements In Armed Conflict: “Green Keeping” In Virunga Park - Applying The Unesco World Heritage Convention In The Armed Conflict Of The Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Britta Sjöstedt

Britta Sjöstedt

No abstract provided.

International Law In The Era Of Climate Change, Rosemary Rayfuse (Ed.), Shirley Scott (Ed.)

Rosemary Rayfuse

No abstract provided.

‘Needle And Stick’ Save The World: Sustainable Development And The Universal Child, Johan Dahlbeck, Moa De Lucia Dahlbeck

Moa Dahlbeck

This text deals with a problem concerning processes of the productive power of knowledge. We draw on so called poststructural theories challenging the classical image of thought – as hinged upon a representational logic identifying entities in a rigid sense – when formulating a problem concerning the gap between knowledge and the object of knowledge. More specifically we are looking at this problem in the contexts of sustainable development and childhood using illustrating examples in order to test the validity of these theoretical accounts. The examples we use range from internationally agreed documents claiming universality concerning environmental protection and childhood …

Climate Change Mitigation Activities In The Ocean: Regulatory Frameworks And Implications, Rosemary Rayfuse

Rosemary Rayfuse

No abstract provided.