Principles of international environmental protection - Introduction to International Environmental Law - page 98

How should governments address the import of genetically modifi ed material,
for instance, if they are taking the precautionary principle seriously?
This chapter is discussing the general principles of international law as they
apply to international environmental protection. This is an important point to
understand, because international environmental law is not a self-sustained
legal system. International environmental law scholars often attach a great
premium on the principles of international environmental law, as if forgetting
that they form only one part of the very extensive system of international law.
Many of these principles - for example, the territorial integrity of states - have
evolved over a very long time so it would be unwise to consider international
environmental protection without a basic knowledge of what these principles
are. With a thorough understanding of international law principles, it is easier
to understand the thinking behind the most important principles of interna-
tional environmental law.
The principles of international law are the starting point for the develop-
ment of international environmental law. These principles have been centuries
in the making and facilitate continuity in the rapidly changing world of
international relations. For instance, the decision by the Trail Smelter arbitra-
tion tribunal in 1941 continues to be consulted in contemporary disputes
related to transboundary pollution.
Territorial sovereignty of states
One of the fundamental principles in international law is the territorial sover-
eignty of states. The primary focus of this principle is the independence of
states: that is, a sovereign state cannot be under the command of another state
(and states are equal from this point of view).
From the standpoint of environmental protection, it is essential that each
state is entitled to establish a social system of its own and hence to pursue its
own environmental protection policy and law. The international community
cannot interfere in the domestic environmental protection within another
state. For example, at the Rio 1992 Conference the host country, Brazil, was
criticized for not having been able to stop the accelerating destruction of the
rainforests. The host country's representatives were offended by the accusa-
tions, arguing that the rainforests are within sovereign Brazilian territory and
hence an exclusively Brazilian responsibility.
The collective responsibility of the international community to intervene in
the internal matters of a state has been debated in cases where a state oppresses
an ethnic or other group (responsibility to protect, or R2P). The status and
contents of this principle are still not fully defi ned and it remains controversial,
not having yet been adopted by the international community against any state
that is destroying the environment within its own territory. Such actions
certainly violate the principle of sustainable development but it is unclear what
weight the principle of sustainable development has in international law. Is it