Environmental Law Commons^™

Free Trade Agreements And The Lacey Act: A Carrot And Stick Approach To Prevent And Deter Trade In Iuu Fisheries, Ginna Arevalo

Florida A & M University Law Review

The U.S. is the world’s largest importer of seafood, importing virtually every fish sold in the U.S. market. Trade statistics do not break down the percentage of imported wild harvested fish, but a recent study estimated that twenty to thirty-two percent are caught illegally. Trade in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fisheries undermines efforts to conserve fish stocks, generates global annual losses of up to twenty-three billion dollars, and weakens economic opportunity for U.S. fishermen. Part I of this paper explains the role of different actors in the trade of duty-free IUU fish and how IUU catches may enter the …

Comment On Maxine Burkett's "Rehabilitation: A Proposal For A Climate Compensation Mechanism For Small Island States", Randall S. Abate

Journal Publications

No abstract provided.

Beyond Known Worlds: Climate Change Governance By Arbitral Tribunals?, Valentina Vadi

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Can economic development and the fight against climate change be integrated successfully? What role, if any, does international investment law play in global climate governance? Can foreign direct investments (FDI) be tools in the struggle against climate change? What types of claims have foreign investors brought with regard to climate change--related regulatory measures before investment treaty arbitral tribunals? This Article examines the specific question as to whether foreign direct investments can mitigate and/or aggravate climate change. The interplay between climate change and foreign direct investments is largely underexplored and in need of systematization. To map this nexus, this Article proceeds …

Biosimilar Naming: A Call For Uniformity In A Complex Field, Jacqueline Genovese

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Recombinant technology has opened a pathway for a means of producing a variety of therapeutic proteins and generating the growth of the biopharmaceutical industry. Further, due the patent expirations of a number of biologics in the coming years, there has been an increased interest in the development of generic biologics, also known as biosimilars, and a widespread push for biosimilar FDA approval in the United States. While the pressure for the expansion of biosimilar approval is warranted, the FDA must be cautious when implementing regulatory guidelines. Since biologics differ greatly from small-molecule drugs, biologics have a distinct approval process. The …

The Limits Of Judicial Mechanisms For Developing And Enforcing International Environmental Norms: Introductory Remarks, Nienke Grossman, Jacqueline Peel

All Faculty Scholarship

International courts and tribunals have played a key role in the development of principles and norms of international environmental law. Over the last two decades, such bodies have been asked to resolve a growing number of disputes that involve environmental issues. The types of issues considered by international courts and tribunals have also expanded in scope and complexity. For instance, disputes concerning environmental matters may involve claims of state responsibility, law of the sea questions, human rights issues, or trade and investment aspects.

The Integration Of Environmental Law Into International Investment Treaties And Trade Agreements: Negotiation Process And The Legalization Of Commitments, Madison Condon

Faculty Scholarship

There were seventeen international investment agreements (“IIAs”) signed around the world in 2012, and each one of them contained some provision relating to the protection of the environment. In comparison, no investment treaty signed before 1985, and fewer than ten percent of treaties signed between 1985 and 2001, contained any reference to the environment at all. Environmental language has become increasingly common in bilateral investment treaties (“BITs”), and to an even greater degree in other IIAs, such as free trade agreements (“FTAs”). The legal implications of the integration of environmental law and norms into investment law treaties have yet to …

Outcome Report Of Roundtable On Human Rights Impact Assessments (Hrias) Of Large-Scale Foreign Investments, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

CCSI, the Sciences Po Law School Clinic, and the Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute recently published an outcome document of a one-day roundtable focused on the opportunities and challenges presented by human rights impact assessments (HRIAs) of large-scale foreign investments. The roundtable, which was held in April 2014 at Columbia University, provided an opportunity for collaborative reflection on the development of HRIAs, as well as on ways to enhance HRIAs as a framework and tool for both human rights advocacy and human rights risk management in respect of foreign investments.

By sharing the outcomes of the roundtable, this document …

Orchestrating Under Uncertainty: The Organization Of Sustainable Development At The United Nations, Philip A. Sandick

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Making Agricultural Investments Work For Land Users & Communities, Kaitlin Y. Cordes

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Earlier this year, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf made an unexpected commitment related to foreign investment in land and community land rights. In a meeting with communities who had raised concerns regarding a British company’s attempts to expand its palm oil production onto their customary land, the President effectively told those communities that they would have the right to say yes or no to further expansion, noting that the company could expand only with the affected communities’ approval.

Rethinking Ddt: The Misguided Goals Of The Stockholm Convention On Persistent Organic Pollutants And A Plan To Fight Malaria Worldwide, Eva Zelson

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

A Contextualized Account Of General Principles Of International Law, Michelle Biddulph, Dwight Newman

Pace International Law Review

This Article examines general principles of international law through the innovative means of comparing their use in four different, novel areas of international law—international environmental law, international investment law, international criminal law, and international indigenous rights. By doing so, the Article is able to make the distinct claim that there is no one, single methodology for analysis of general principles of international law. Rather, each area of international law tends to use a methodology suited to its policy objectives and overall characteristics as a specific area of law. The Article characterizes two predominant academic approaches to general principles: a purely …

Climate Change Negotiations And Doha, Qatar, Sophia Sofferman

Pace International Law Review

This comment will focus on the role that the principle of common and differentiated responsibilities plays in global climate negotiations under the United Nations Framework on Climate Change and more recent climate negotiations by the Conference of the Parties. More specifically, this comment will focus on the implications this has for developing and developed countries, namely on China and the United States as the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world, and as developing and developed countries respectively.

Conceptualizing Climate Justice In Kivalina, Marissa Knodel

Seattle University Law Review

Due to climate change, indigenous communities in Alaska are forced to develop in ways that adversely affect their livelihoods and culture. For example, decreases in sea ice, increases in the frequency of sea storms, and melting permafrost have so accelerated the erosion of one barrier island that an entire village faces relocation. These indigenous communities, which have contributed little to causing climate change, are limited in their ability to adapt. After examining three broad questions about the effects of climate change on indigenous communities, this Article reaches four preliminary conclusion about relocation as a climate adaptation strategy and its relations …

Fisheries Governance And How It Fits Within The Broader Arctic Governance, Adam Soliman

Seattle University Law Review

Climate change is causing the Arctic ice to melt and fish stocks to change their migration patterns. These changes are increasing access to Arctic fisheries, as well as moving other fish stocks to the north. To prevent the depletion of fish stocks and to protect the Arctic environment, proper fisheries governance requires collaboration between nation-states and specific populations. Fisheries present unique governance and management issues. Unlike other natural resources, fish stocks do not stay in the same place. The non-stationary nature of fish stocks, along with shared sovereignty over the oceans, make coordination between stakeholders the most difficult as well …

Oil And Gas In America's Arctic Ocean: Past Problems Counsel Precaution, Michael Levine, Peter Van Tuyn, Layla Hughes

Seattle University Law Review

This Article provides context for the controversy facing government agencies charged with making decisions about the future of America’s Arctic Ocean. It then distill themes that, if addressed, could help further a lasting solution for this region that respects its natural and human values while crafting a reasonable path forward for decisions about development. First, this Article offers background about the region, the threats facing it, and some of the challenges in managing the natural resources there. Second, it provides an overview of the legal framework through which the United States government makes decisions about whether and under what conditions …

Changes In Latitudes Call For Changes In Attitudes: Towards Recognition Of A Global Imperative For Stewardship, Not Exploitation, In The Arctic, Taylor Simpson-Wood

Seattle University Law Review

For more than two centuries, the imagination of mariners has been captured by visions of a trade route across the Arctic Sea allowing vessels to travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Known as the Northwest Passage, this fabled route is a time- and money-saving sea lane running from the Atlantic Ocean Arctic Circle to the Pacific Ocean Arctic Circle. Now, the thinning of the ice in the Arctic may transform what was once only a dream into a reality. New shipping lanes linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans are likely to open between 2040 and 2059. If loss …

Nimby: Not In Mexico's Back Yard? A Case For Recognition Of A Human Right To Healthy Enviroment In The American States, Scott D. Cahalan

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The National Environmental Policy Act Of 1969 And Its Implications For Nafta: Public Citizen V. United States Trade Representative, 822 F. Supp. 21 (D.D.C.), Rev'd 5 F.3d 549 (D.C. Cir. 1993)., Kristin R. Loecke

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Not A Drop To Spare: The Global Water Crisis Of The Twenty-First Century, Ranee Khooshie Lal Panjabi

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Environment - Endangered Species - Extraterritorial Application Of The Endangered Species Act Of 1973. Defenders Of Wildlife V. Lujan, 911 F.2d 117 (8th Cir. 1990), Cert. Granted, Lujan V. Defenders Of Wildlife, 111 S. Ct. 2008 (1991)., Jeffery P. Robbins

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

European Economic Community - Environmental Policy - Economic And Fiscal Instruments - Report Of The Working Group Of Experts From The Member States Proposes The Use Of Economic And Fiscal Instruments To Attain Community-Wide Environmental Goals, John B. Nicholson

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Meeting Summary Of Colloquium On Policy, Law, Contracts, And Sustainable Development, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In November 2014, CCSI and the Institute for Human Rights and Business co-convened a colloquium on policy, law, contracts, and sustainable development, with a particular focus on large-scale investments in the extractive industries and the agriculture sector. The colloquium provided an opportunity for practitioners to share information on their related work, as well as to reflect on current practices and remaining gaps regarding efforts to embed sustainability and human rights into large-scale deals. This outcome document provides a summary of the discussion, while its annex includes information on participants’ relevant programs, initiatives, and tools.

Outcome Report Of Roundtable On Governing Natural Resources, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In November 2014, CCSI convened a one-day roundtable focused on lessons learned from good governance initiatives for extractive industry investments and large land-based agricultural investments. The roundtable brought together a range of stakeholders working on extractive industry investments and/or land-based forestry and agricultural investments, including representatives from civil society, government, academia, and the private sector. CCSI has published an outcome note from this roundtable.

Key structural differences between the extractive industries and the forestry and agriculture sectors mean that not all lessons learned from good governance initiatives related to extractives investments or land-based agricultural investments are transferrable. However, large-scale extractive …

Toward Win-Win Sustainable Development, Linda Moon

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

An interview with Lisa Sachs, Director of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment.

Environmental Health And Safety - International Standardization Of Right-To-Know Legislation In Response To Refusal Of United States Multinationals To Publish Toxic Emissions Data For Their United Kingdom Facilities, Melissa S. Padgett

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Protocol On Environmental Protection To The Antarctic Treaty - The Antarctic Treaty - Antarctic Minerals Convention - Wellington Convention - Convention On The Regulation Of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities, Rodney R. Mccolloch

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Global Warming - International Environmental Agreements - The 1992 United Nations Conference On The Environment And Development Most Likely Will Not Culminate In A Successfully Preventative Global Warming Treaty Without The United States' Support., Suzanne C. Massey

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Eco-Terrorist Acts During The Persian Gulf War: Is International Law Sufficient To Hold Iraq Liable?, Laura Edgerton

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Whale For Sale?: New Developments In The Convention On International Trade In Endangered Species Of Wild Fauna And Flora, Kevin Eldridge

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Gatt/Wto Rules For Border Tax Adjustment And The Proposed European Directive Introducing A Tax On Carbon Dioxide Emissions And Energy, Christian Pitschas

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.