Questions and Answers of International Environmental Law

Please reflect on and explain the role and usefulness of the concept of SD in relation to the protection of the environment.
Has the concept of SD achieved the balance between all three pillars: environmental protection; economic development; and social issues?
What, if any, is the normative content of the concept of SD?
How many ‘dimensions’ of the PSNR principle can you enumerate? To which one does UN Resolution 1803(1962) refer?
Why is it said that the PSNR principle has both a ‘right’ and a ‘duty’ side? Which one is most relevant with respect to international environmental law?
Would you consider the PSNR principle still relevant today? Why?
Analyse the difference between the principle of prevention and precaution. Is it the same?
If there is a separate principle of precaution, do we need a principle of prevention?
What are the characteristic features of the principle of prevention?
Do we need the precautionary principle if we have environmental impact assessment?
Is the precautionary principle an efficient tool in the protection of the environment?
What is the legal status of the precautionary principle?
Identify the different ways the polluter-pays principle is given effect in international law.
Discuss the relationship between the polluter-pays principle and the principles of prevention and precaution.
‘The polluter-pays principle promises to be an effective tool in the fight against climate change.’ Do you agree?
Is intergenerational equity a moral or legal principle?
Is the principle of intergenerational equity an effective tool of protection of the rights of future generations?
Should we protect the rights of future generations or be more concerned with the rights of present generations?
Is environmental impact assessment a procedural environmental right?
Are all environmental human rights justiciable?
How would you characterise EIA from the point of view usefulness in terms of protection of transboundary watercourses?
Do we need EIA if we have the precautionary principle?
Identify the core elements of EIA.
Critically assess the strengths and limitations of UNCLOS in relation to the conservation of marine living resources.
How is UNCLOS a framework convention?
Discuss the problems of high seas fishing.
How is the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity a framework convention?
Why is the protection of marine biodiversity inadequate in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea?
Do you think that the overall international legal framework of biodiversity is inadequate in the rule that it sets out?
Critically assess and analyse substantive and procedure principles underlying the 1997 Watercourse Convention including existing case law.
Assess the relationship with both global treaties on international watercourses law.
Explain the judgments of the ICJ in the Pulp Mills and Costa Rica v. Nicaragua cases in relation to substantive/procedural requirements concerning water cooperation.
In which sense might international law on the management of hazardous waste be regarded as a fragmented regulation area?
What does the principle of environmentally sound management entail? And what is the ‘prior informed consent’ requirement?
Which aspects of the ‘management’ of hazardous waste are more developed at the international level? Which less so?
What are the differences between the regimes for state responsibility and civil liability for environmental harm?
Critically assess the Nicaragua v. Costa Rica decision as it concerns state responsibility for environmental damage.
Identify the main principles underlying civil liability regimes.
Should there be an international environment court?
Do you think that non-adversarial methods of dispute settlement are better for friendly relations between states for environmental law?
Critically assess the roles of the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in being a competent forum for settling environmental disputes.
Can trade restrictions under MEAs be reconciled with the trade liberalisation objectives of international trade law?
‘Far from showing hostility to environmental concerns, the WTO Appellate Body strikes a good balance between unjustified restrictions on trade and the prevention of environmental harm.’ Discuss.
In what ways, if any, does the inclusion of environmental regulation in FTAs address concerns about the integration of environmental law and trade law?
Critically assess and explain the main principles underlying the ILC draft environment.
Should MEAs apply during armed conflict?
Do you agree that the current protection of the environment is inadequate and insufficient?