Principles of international environmental protection - Introduction to International Environmental Law - page 120

'Sustainable development' is the most common material principle. The
defi nition of the Brundtland Commission is rather too general to function as
guidance for practical environmental protection. The International Court of
Justice defi ned sustainable development in a simpler way. In the Danube dam
dispute between Hungary and Slovakia, the ICJ stated that sustainable devel-
opment is meant to reconcile economic development with environmental
protection. This does not provide much guidance but it does at least capture
the essence that economic activity with no regard for the environmental
impact is no longer acceptable. We can argue that the 'human right to a decent
or satisfactory environment' has evolved into a material principle which obli-
gates the international community to work to maintain or repair the state of
the environment. The material objective in the EU marine strategy directive
is the 'good environmental status' of marine areas. Material principles and
objectives share a common problem: it is diffi cult to defi ne exactly what
constitutes a 'decent environment' or 'good environmental status', just as it is
diffi cult to defi ne sustainable development. It can be argued that if a state
permits the operation of a seriously polluting factory in its territory, it is in
violation of the sustainable development principle, the human right to a
decent environment and the objective of good environmental status. In his
doctoral dissertation, Robert Utter asks the very pertinent question whether
all environmental law (international environmental regulation included) is
based on a concept of a certain level of environmental quality, even if that
precise level cannot be exactly defi ned. 37
Some human actions are clearly prohibited by international environ-
mental law. Even if the advisory opinion of the International Court of
Justice did not provide a clear answer as to whether nuclear weapons can
be used in a situation where the existence of a state is threatened, it did
state that the use of nuclear weapons should normally be banned, for
example on the basis of principles of international environmental law.
Nuclear weapon testing has been permitted for a long time despite its seri-
ous environmental impacts. As we saw earlier, New Zealand and Australia
sued France in the International Court of Justice because France was
performing atmospheric nuclear tests in its Pacifi c islands; such tests are
today prohibited by international law.
The procedural principles aim to guarantee that the material principles are
implemented - that such targets as sustainable development or the human
right to a decent environment can be achieved. They can be divided into three
categories:
1 Principles to guarantee that scientifi c and other research is considered
appropriately in environmental decision-making.
2 Principles to create a framework for environmental decision-making that
involves people and organizations in the project area.
3 Principles to obligate companies to implement their production processes
in as environment-friendly ways as possible.