Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
4
As a student reading international law textbooks, I became conscious of the
fact that international law justifi ed many concepts which I had taken for
granted - such as the sovereignty of a state in its own territory. I came to
appreciate that this was not just a fact but a principle protected and upheld by
international law.
I realized then how important the rules of international law are in regulating
the legal status of the place where we live. These principles precede the actions
of present and future governments. We, our leaders and our governors assume
the principles as a matter of course when we confront the complex reality of
international politics. The ownership of a territory defi nes who can protect its
environment.
Newcomers to international environmental law are often enchanted by its
principles: 'common heritage of humanity', 'common concerns of human-
kind' and the 'precautionary principle' sound like magic words with the power
to make environmental problems disappear. While this kind of idealism is
psychologically important for anyone specializing in international environ-
mental law, it will fade over time, while these principles remain as ideals and
objectives to spend our lives working towards.
Their legal status and content can seem a little vague, so they do require
frequent discussion and clarifi cation. This can cause a bit of a headache as it is
diffi cult even for an expert on the matter to state anything about them with
certainty. On the other hand, they encompass such a wealth of rules and principles
that they can help us to bring coherence into international environmental law.
This chapter discusses the role of principles in international environmental
protection. We will begin by taking a look at the rules of international law
which defi ne the legal status of the different parts of the world: that is, who or
what body has the power to decide over polluting economic operations in a
given area and how the environmental impacts of these operations should be
controlled and minimized. The primary principle is the sovereignty of states
over their own territories, since states have territorial sovereignty over most of
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