Law Commons^™

International Marine Environment Law: A Case Study In The Wider Caribbean Region, Benedict C. Sheehy

ExpressO

Abstract: This study examines the effectiveness of international marine environment law in controlling and abating contamination of the marine environment in the Wider Caribbean Region. The main international agreement covering the region is the Cartagena Convention which came into force in 1983. This convention, initiated by the UNEP under its Regional Seas Program, is considered one of the most successful of the programs. The study examines that claim in light of events since the adoption of the Cartagena Convention by the majority of nations bordering on the region. Mexico, because of its stature as a leading Latin American nation, is …

Developing Internationally Uniform Liability Principles For Harms From Genetically Modified Organisms , Ryan C. Hansen

ExpressO

This paper analyzes the current legal principles regarding liabillity for harms from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the U.S. and E.U., as well as the various international policies and mechanisms affecting GMOs

How City Hall Causes Sprawl - A Case Study, Michael E Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

A book review addressing the city of Atlanta's pro-sprawl transportation, zoning and urban renewal policies.

Mass Toxic Tort Litigation And Class Action Rule Reform In The United States, Jason L. Betts

ExpressO

The paper advances the proposition that mass toxic tort litigation has been the predominant driver of class action rule reform in the Unites States. Through three distinct phases of proposals to reform Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the judicial and academic attitude to the certification of mass toxic torts has influenced the reform debate in radically different ways – initially by providing the catalyst for efforts to reform Rule 23; then as a dampener against significant reforms to Rule 23 in the wake of mass toxic tort “settlement-only” classes; and ultimately as an explanation for the …

Multilateral Environmental Agreements And The Compliance Continuum, Teall E. Crossen

ExpressO

This paper responds to the observation that despite the high number of multilateral environment agreements (“MEAs”), and relatively high compliance rate, the global commons are continuing to deteriorate. I review the contemporary literature addressing the question: "why nations comply with international law," focusing specifically on MEAs. The competing schools of thought are organized along a "compliance continuum," – bordered at one end by the Chayesian approach advocating managing compliance, and the Downsian view at the other, arguing for enforcement when there are high incentives to defect.

In sum, my conclusions are (1) adequately responding to global environmental problems requires increasing …

Ecocide And Genocide In Iraq: International Law, The Marsh Arabs And Environmental Damage In Non-International Conflicts, Aaron Schwabach

ExpressO

In 1991, after the first Gulf War, the Marsh Arabs of southern Iraq rose up against the Hussein government, with U.S. encouragement. The rebellion failed; in retaliation the government embarked on a massive water diversion project to drain the wetlands. In 1970 the wetlands covered nearly 11,000 square kilometers; today they cover fewer than a thousand. The Marsh Arabs whose ancestors had lived in the wetlands for five thousand years were forced to flee; many died. The drainage of the wetlands was a deliberate and calculated act of genocide and ecocide. At the time, Iraq was a party to several …

Takings Formalism And Regulatory Formulas: Exactions And The Consequences Of Clarity, Mark Fenster

ExpressO

A vocal minority of the U.S. Supreme Court recently announced its suspicion that lower courts and state and local administrative agencies are systematically ignoring constitutional rules intended to limit, through heightened judicial review, exactions as a land use regulatory tool. Exactions are the concessions local governments require of property owners as conditions for the issuance of the entitlements that enable the intensified use of real property. In two cases decided over the past two decades, Nollan v. California Coastal Commission (1987) and Dolan v. City of Tigard (1994), the Court has established under the Takings Clause a logic and metrics …

Difused Surface Water: Reasonable Use Has Become The Common Enemy, Wendy B. Davis

ExpressO

Diffused surface water, caused by precipitation, should be treated as a necessary asset to replenish aquifers used for drinking water, and not as waste to be disposed of by landowners. Groundwater aquifers were created, and can only be replenished, by precipitation that is allowed to seep underground. Ninety-nine percent of the drinking water for people in rural areas of America comes from groundwater aquifers. These aquifers are in danger of being contaminated or depleted, which could result in severe water shortages very soon. Legislators have failed to enact a comprehensive system to regulate the use of aquifers, relying instead on …

Fourth Circuit Summary, Paul T. Eubanks

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

The Fourth Circuit Summary, published at least once a year, provides a synopsis of important recent environmental decisions decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The summary does not cover every environmental decision of the Fourth Circuit, but only those cases that the editors believe to be of most interest to subscribers. The cases discussed below were decided in 2002 and 2003.

Slouching Toward Eden: The Eco-Pragmatic Challenges Of Ecosystem Revival, In Symposium, The Pragmatic Ecologist: Environmental Protection As Jurisdynamic Experience, A. Dan Tarlock

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Water Supply And Urban Growth In New Mexico: Same Old, Same Old Or A New Era?, (With L. Lucero), A. Dan Tarlock

All Faculty Scholarship

New Mexico and other arid western states face the following dilemma: Rapid urban growth and the increasing demand for the dedication of water to aquatic ecosystem services are placing new stresses on the ability of available water supplies to support these new demands at a time when a coherent federal supply and water policy no longer exists and states have been slow to fill the vacuum. The answer to the increasing demand for water is no longer simply to augment supply through new diversions, high-capacity wells, or the construction of large storage reservoirs. Instead, in today's increasingly unmediated, competitive water …

Fish, Farms, And The Clash Of Cultures In The Klamath Basin, (With H. Doremus), A. Dan Tarlock

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Water Supply And Urban Growth In New Mexico: Same Old, Same Old Or A New Era?, (With L. Lucero), A. Dan Tarlock

Dan Tarlock

New Mexico and other arid western states face the following dilemma: Rapid urban growth and the increasing demand for the dedication of water to aquatic ecosystem services are placing new stresses on the ability of available water supplies to support these new demands at a time when a coherent federal supply and water policy no longer exists and states have been slow to fill the vacuum. The answer to the increasing demand for water is no longer simply to augment supply through new diversions, high-capacity wells, or the construction of large storage reservoirs. Instead, in today's increasingly unmediated, competitive water …

Fish, Farms, And The Clash Of Cultures In The Klamath Basin, (With H. Doremus), Dan Tarlock

Dan Tarlock

No abstract provided.

Slouching Toward Eden: The Eco-Pragmatic Challenges Of Ecosystem Revival, In Symposium, The Pragmatic Ecologist: Environmental Protection As Jurisdynamic Experience, A. Dan Tarlock

Dan Tarlock

No abstract provided.

Environmental Law With Chinese Characteristics, Eric W. Orts

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Reaching Out To The Rule Of Law: China's Continuing Efforts To Develop An Effective Environmental Law Regime, Richard J. Ferris, Hongjun Zhang

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

A Termőföld Jogi Szabályozásának Inkoherenciái, Milan Meszaros

Milan Meszaros physicist

Az Európai Unió országaiban a termőföld jogi szabályozása az egyes országokban ugyan fejlettebb stádiumban van mint Magyarországon, ugyanakkor -az EU tagországok közötti összehasonlításban- a szabályozás eklektikus képet mutat.

Magyarországon -másfél évvel az uniós csatlakozás előtt- a termőföldet érintő jogi szabályozás viszonylag fejlett állapotba jutott el, ugyanakkor e szabályozásban még mindig jelentős koherencia zavar tapasztalható.

Ennek ellenére -a gyakori és hol erre, hol arra hangsúlyt tevő politikai áramlatok támogatásával vagy éppen velük ellentétben- kialakult a termőföldet érintő jogi szabályozás hatóköre és gerince. Ezzel párhuzamosan –az 1989. október 23-án hatályba lépett új alkotmány keretei között– a termőföld szabályozásában kialakult egy inkonzisztens jogforrási …

Enforcing Environmental Norms: Diplomatic And Judicial Approaches, Nicholas A. Robinson

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Environmental norms are observed because they are norms about how people respect each other and the natural systems that sustain human communities. Environmental norms are basic to human well-being. They arise out of the human condition, not unlike human rights laws. Environmental norms emerge from the fact that humans exist within ecosystems, and human society is embedded in the natural systems in which they have evolved; environmental norms are grounded in an objective reality, and scientists can measure the consequences of observing--or failing to observe--those norms. The provisions of environmental norms, therefore, exist not merely as pronouncements of governments, applied …

A Two-Dimensional Framework For Analyzing Property Rights Regimes, Shi-Ling Hsu

Shi-Ling Hsu

This article proposes an integrative framework wherein all property regimes can be expressed as a function of two fundamental characteristics: (i) whether the dominant right is a use right or an exclusion right (or some degree thereof), and (ii) the size of the party jointly holding the dominant right. This article will show how all property regimes can be characterized by these two variables. By analyzing property regimes in such a framework, property regimes can be related to each other, and conditions can be identified under which the regimes function best. I introduce four fundamental property regimes: the Individual Use, …

Energy, Climate Change And Sustainable Development, David R. Hodas

David R. Hodas

No abstract provided.

Unclos And The High Seas: Problems And Suggested Solutions To The Creation Of A Common Pool Resource On An International Scaleproblems And Suggested Solutions To The Creation Of A Common Pool, Chad J. Mcguire

Chad J McGuire

The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze UNCLOS as an efficient management regime for protecting migratory marine species1, especially those with economic value. The premise, based on foundations of collective action theory, is UNCLOS cannot adequately protect marine resources. The main reasons include the dynamics involved with national sovereignty, along with UNCLOS creation of what is tantamount to a common pool, or open access resource through the development of the “high seas” concept.

Golden And Its Emanations: The Surprising Origins Of Smart Growth, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article provides the background for the adoption of the Ramapo ordinance, explains its precocious inventions in some detail, and describes other dramatic local inventions emanating from the Ramapo approach to smart growth. It ends with a reflection on the Quiet Revolution, the continuing disquiet that accompanies the spectacular smart growth inventions of local governments in this country, and modest recommendations for reform. Along the way, the reader will encounter the rebirth of performance zoning, local environmental laws that protect critical environmental resources, a local abandoned property reclamation act, the use of mediation to solve border wars between localities, an …

The Current Controversy Regarding Tmdls: Contemporary Perspectives "Tmdls And Pollutant Trading", Ann Powers

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The article first summarizes CWA requirements relevant to TMDLs and outlines elements of an effective trading program. It then examines the program recently established by the State of Connecticut to allow trading of nitrogen credits among sewage treatment plants on Long Island Sound to achieve an established TMDL, and the CWA issues presented. Finally, it gives a brief comparison to the program being designed for the Chesapeake Bay, for which no TMDL has been established. Current brief descriptive summaries of several often cited programs are appended.

Environmental Law, Congress, And The Court's New Federalism Doctrine, Christopher H. Schroeder

Indiana Law Journal

Symposium: Congressional Power in the Shadow of the Rehnquist Court: Strategies for the Future held at Indiana University Law School, February 1-2, 2002.

Overlooked Issues In The "Diligent Prosecution" Citizen Suit Preclusion, Jeffrey G. Miller

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Congress sought to attain full compliance with environmental statutes. It reasoned that multiple enforcers would provide more comprehensive and effective enforcement than one enforcer. Congress therefore empowered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the states and private citizens as enforcers of the statutes. However, Congress worried that successive actions by multiple enforcers could bring disruption and conflict to enforcement litigation and remedies. It therefore included in the citizen suit provision of each statute a limited, three-element notice, delay, and bar preclusion device to manage successive citizens' enforcement against the violations already subject to government enforcement. The device generally bars citizens from …

Is Citizen Suit Notice Jurisdictional And Why Does It Matter?, Karl S. Coplan

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The question of whether notice is jurisdictional or not has important ramifications for citizen suit litigation. The characterization of the notice requirement as “jurisdictional” implicates the proper procedure for raising notice objections, the means of curing notice defects, the question of waiver of notice objections, and the timing of raising notice objections. This article will conduct a brief review of the case law concerning the jurisdictional nature (or not) of the notice requirement, a consideration of the as-yet unnoticed impact of Steel Co. on the issue, and a discussion of the procedural and litigation ramifications of characterizing the notice element …

The Takings Clause And The Separation Of Powers: An Essay, John A. Humbach

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The most fundamental environmental problem is this: across our nation there are literally hundreds of millions of acres of important natural resource lands-- farms, forests, wetlands, reservoir watersheds, shore lands, endangered species habitat--lands that have relatively little commercial value in their present natural condition, but which would have much greater commercial value if their natural values were degraded or destroyed. Stated differently, private property often will yield a much greater profit to its owner if it is used in ways that will harm or obliterate important environmental assets and values. For this reason, private owners are understandably tempted to supplant …

The Environmental Commerce Clause, Christine A. Klein

UF Law Faculty Publications

This Article studies every commerce clause decision of the modem Supreme Court that involves the scope of governmental authority to regulate the use of natural resources. These decisions comprise what I will call the environmental commerce clause -- the Court's interpretation of the limits mandated by the commerce clause upon federal and state legislation protecting natural resources. Overall, the Court has been limiting the scope of the affirmative commerce clause while simultaneously expanding the reach of the dormant commerce clause. As a result, both federal and state efforts to protect the natural environment have been rendered constitutionally suspect.

This study …

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.