Edith Brown Weiss

INVOKING STATE RESPONSIBILITY IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the international community is globalizing, integrating, and fragmenting, all at the same time. States continue to be central, but many other actors have also become important: international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, corporations, ad hoc transnational groups both legitimate and illicit, and individuals. For the year 2000, the Yearbook of International Organizations reports that there were 922 international intergovernmental organizations and 9988 international nongovernmental organizations. If organizations associated with multilateral treaty agreements, bilateral government organizations, other international bodies (including religious and secular institutes) , and internationally oriented national organizations are included, the number of international organizations reaches nearly thirty thousand. Another twenty-four thousand are listed as inactive or unconfirmed. Corporations that produce globally are similarly numerous. As of September 27, 2002, an estimated 6,252,829,827 individuals lived on our planet. Some of these individuals and groups have made claims against states for breaching their obligations, particularly for human rights violations. In short, international law inhabits a much more complicated world than the one that existed fifty or even thirty years ago.

Compliance with International Environmental Accords

In 1972, the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (UNCHE), held in Stockholm, launched a global effort to protect, preserve, and enhance the environment. International environmental accords — treaties and agreements — were central components of this effort. They became primary instruments for orienting and coordinating the behavior first of states and ultimately of enterprises and individuals, steering behavior away from those activities that were environmentally destructive and toward those that would be environmentally benign. In the two decades that followed the Stockholm conference this emphasis on international environmental accords continued, and in June 1992, at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, 1992, it was reaffirmed.

The Coming Water Crisis: A Common Concern of Humankind

This essay argues that fresh water, its availability and use, should now be recognized as ‘a common concern of humankind’, much as climate change was recognized as a ‘common concern of humankind’ in the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and conservation of biodiversity was recognized as a ‘common concern of humankind’ in the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity. This would respond to the many linkages between what happens in one area with the demand for and the supply of fresh water in other areas. It would take into account the scientific characteristics of the hydrological cycle, address the growing commodification of water in the form of transboundary water markets and virtual water transfers through food production and trade, and respect the efforts to identify a human right to water.

Global environmental change and international law

Abstract The UNU Monitor is a quarterly review of the current research, publications and forthcoming projects by the United Nations University (UNU) in the area of global environmental change. Related activities by other institutions active in the ‘Human Dimensions of Global Change Programme’ are also reported. The Monitor is compiled by the UNU Academic Division in Tokyo. The topic of this issues Monitor is ‘Environmental change and international law’. Following the ‘Earth Summit’ in June international law has to cope with a variety of challenges, from cross-national accords to enforcement of international agreements. Professor Edith Brown Weiss of Georgetown University, coordinator of the UNU project on ‘Global Change and International Law’ and the editor of the resulting UNU Press book, outlines the issues at stake. For further information on UNUs global change agenda, contact Mr Dieter Koenig or Dr Juha Uitto, UNU, Toho-Seimei-Building, 15-1 Shibuya-2-chome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150, Japan.

Climate change, intergenerational equity and international law: An introductory note

The change in the Earths climate caused by the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere may be the most important environmental legacy that we leave to our descendants.Global change raises difficult issues of equity between our generation and future generations, and between different communities within future generations. International law is accustomed to addressing the effects of intentional environmental change on people who are already alive. It needs to be augmented by principles of intergenerational equity. We have certain obligations to future generations to pass on a planet in no worse condition than we received it and to give them equitable access to its resources.This requires a global strategy for climate change which will prevent excessively rapid climate change, prevent or mitigate the damage caused by climate change, and help countries to adapt to climate change. We need to avoid imposing major costs on future generations for our own benefit.To implement this strategy will require enforceable norms of behavior, which should be embodied in a Declaration of Planetary Rights and Obligations to Future Generations, and implemented in appropriate treaties and national and local legislation. Agreements should be drafted in such a way that they can incorporate increases in scientific understanding, for example by the creation of scientific advisory committees.

International Law in a Kaleidoscopic World

International law is developed and implemented today in a complicated, diverse, and changing context. Globalization and integration, fragmentation and decentralization, and bottom-up empowerment are arising simultaneously among highly diverse peoples and civilizations. Most importantly, this period is characterized by rapid and often unforeseen changes with widespread effects. Advances in information technology make possible ever shifting ad hoc coalitions and informal groups and a myriad of individual initiatives.The resulting kaleidoscopic world faces global problems that affect everyone: climate change, financial crises, health threats, communication disruptions and cyber attacks, ethnic and other conflicts, among many others. These cannot be managed solely by one state or a handful of states, or solely by non-state actors. Some of these problems erupt quickly and are not easily contained. Others, like climate change, have inherently long time-horizons and affect the welfare of future generations. One of the most pressing problems is poverty, with more than 1.4 billion people existing on less than US

Bibliography Relating To Food Safety And The Beef Hormones Case

1.25 per day in 2008 and another 1.2 billion people on less than US

Principles of International Environmental Law.

2.00 per day.This kaleidoscopic world both offers opportunities for international law to become more relevant and central and poses significant dangers for its relevance and effectiveness. This article provides an initial analysis of the significance of the kaleidoscopic world for international law.

International Legal and Institutional Implications of an Increase in Carbon Dioxide: A Proposed Research Strategy

BERNASCONI-OSTERWALDER, NATHALIE ET AL. (2006). ENVIRONMENT AND TRADE: A GUIDE TO WTO JURISPRUDENCE. BUTTON, CATHERINE. (2004). THE POWER TO PROTECT: TRADE, HEALTH AND UNCERTAINTY IN THE WTO. ECHOLS, MARSHA. (2001). FOOD SAFETY AND THE WTO: THE INTERPLAY OF CULTURE, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. FENNELL, ROSEMARY. (1997). THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE. JOSLING, TIMOTHY. (1998). AGRICULTURAL TRADE POLICY: COMPLETING THE REFORM. RITSON, CHRISTOPHER ET AL. (1991). THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY AND THE WORLD ECONOMY: ESSAYS IN HONOR OF JOHN ASHTON.

INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ASPECTS OF RECOMBINANT DNA RESEARCH

Part I. The Legal and Institutional Framework: 1. The environment and international society: issues, concepts and definitions 2. History 3. Governance: states, international organisations and non-state actors 4. International law-making and regulation 5. Compliance: implementation, enforcement and dispute settlement Part II. Principles and Rules Establishing Standards: 6. General principles and rules 7. Atmosphere and climate change 8. Freshwater resources 9. Oceans, seas and fisheries 10. Biodiversity 11. Hazardous substances and activities 12. Waste 13. Polar regions Part III. Techniques for Implementing International Principles and Rules: 14. Environmental impact assessment 15. Environmental information 16. Financial resources, technology transfer and intellectual property 17. Liability for environmental damage Part IV. Linkage of International Environmental Law and Other Areas of International Law: 18. Human rights and armed conflict 19. International trade and competition 20. Foreign investment 21. Future developments.