International Environmental Law

Description

International Environmental Law is a new textbook written for students, practitioners, and anyone interested in the subject. The overall aim of the book is to provide a fresh understanding of international environmental law as a whole, seen in the light of climate change, biodiversity loss, and the other serious environmental challenges facing the world. The book has also been kept deliberately manageable in size by careful selection of topics and by adopting a cross-cutting synthesis of regulatory interaction in the field. This enables the reader to place international environmental law in the broader context of public international law in general, revealing at the same time that international environmental law is experimental ground for developing new legal approaches towards global governance. To this end, the authors have combined theory and practice. Apart from discussing concepts, rule-making and compliance, the book looks at options for improved coordination, harmonisation and even integration of existing multilateral environmental agreements, analysing how conflicts between various environmental regimes can be avoided or, at least, adequately managed. The authors argue that an appropriate management of international environmental relations must address the North-South divide, which continues to be a major obstacle to global environmental cooperation. Furthermore, the authors emphasise the growing human rights dimension of international environmental law. This book is an ideal 'door opener' for the further study of international environmental law. Focusing on 'international environmental governance' in a comprehensive way, it serves to explain that each institution, each actor, and each instrument is part of a multi-dimensional process in international environmental law and relations.

Ulrich Beyerlin is a retired Professor of Public Law and International Law at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law and at the University of Heidelberg. Thilo Marauhn is Professor of Public Law, International and European Law at the University of Giesen, Germany.

...a valuable addition to the growing list of textbooks on international environmental law. It not only provides an insightful account of the current state of the regime and the key challenges faced by it, but also makes interesting recommendations in order to address them. Underpinning the academic debate with constant references to pertinent case law and a comprehensive list of additional resources for further reference at the end of each chapter, this book is an invaluable resource for both students and practitioners interested in gaining a substantial understanding of this complex area of law. More importantly, the authors' critical appraisal of the current state of the international environmental law regime, and their related recommendations, encourage reflection upon the progression that has thus far been made and provides a fertile ground upon which future initiatives could develop. -- Aliki Zeri * International Community Law Review Volume 15 * ...this volume is a very well-presented study of international environmental law. It is well organised, informative and problem orientated, with a clear and accessible structure... It will provide... a very sound and comprehensive basis for future studies of international environmental law. Due to its concise character it will also be an invaluable source of information for practitioners. As a text it can be recommended for the teaching of international environmental law, offering a very good overview of contemporary problems relating to the subject. -- Malgosia Fitzmaurice * Journal of Environmental Law, Volume 25, Number 1 * International Environmental Law is a very good new textbook, which aims at providing a basic understanding of the subject for students and practitioners. Indeed, the book offers a short, but rather comprehensive treatment of international environmental law, by placing this area in the broader context of public international law. However, it does not require or imply a previous knowledge of international law. Generally speaking, the textbook is a recommendable starting point for a basic understanding of the main international environmental law topics and issues, also in their relationship with other relevant areas of international law. ...the present textbook contains a comprehensive and well written description and analysis of international environmental law as it stands to date, with its complex issues and very specific characteristics. The book is therefore to be recommended for those who are interested in the subject and look for a starting point for their research. By reading this textbook, which is kept within a reasonable size, the readers may gain a wide-ranging picture of international environmental law, as it has developed over the past forty years. Moreover, they may become aware of the key concepts, issues an debates, which nowadays shape this field of law. -- Massimiliano Montini * Italian Yearbook of International Law Volume XXI-2011 * This is an excellent introductory text aimed at students and practitioners interested in international environmental law. It seeks to familiarise the reader with the system of environmental law as a whole and the interaction between different environmental regimes in IEL and governance. The authors provide a wide-ranging and structured discussion of theoretical, substantive and procedural aspects of IEL while also demonstrating how the different areas of IEL form a system of international governance that is accessible for students. It is immediately engaging, clearly written and very accessible and because of this, I was able to pick it up and refer to it immediately in my own work. This is important for an introductory textbook and as such, I think it would be very useful to undergraduates and those who may be taking shorter courses on this subject. This book achieves its objectives of making the reader familiar with the system of IEL as a whole. It not only makes readers aware of the current theory and practice in this field but considers options for improved coordination and integration of MEAs. On the whole this is a very well thought through contribution to the area of IEL. -- Kate Wilkinson * Environmental Liability Volume 5 * Professors and decision-makers in search of a concise restatement of [international environmental law], containing the essentials necessary to quickly grasp an intelligent overview, need look no further! * American Society of International Law Newsletter Issue #43 * ...a good solid introduction to environmental law [that] touches ... on important issues such as the need to integrate the working of Multilateral Environment Agreements and for greater coordination of international governance. -- Begonia Filgueira * Environmental Regulation and Information Centre Newsletter * ...a valuable addition to the growing list of textbooks on international environmental law. It not only provides an insightful account of the current state of the regime and the key challenges faced by it, but also makes interesting recommendations in order to address them. Underpinning the academic debate with constant references to pertinent case law and a comprehensive list of additional resources for further reference at the end of each chapter, this book is an invaluable resource for both students and practitioners interested in gaining a substantial understanding of this complex area of law. More importantly, the authors' critical appraisal of the current state of the international environmental law regime, and their related recommendations, encourage reflection upon the progression that has thus far been made and provides a fertile ground upon which future initiatives could develop. -- Aliki Zeri * International Community Law Review *