Intro: Is there a point to international environmental law if it cannot be enforced?
Compliance with International Environmental Law, although encouraged rather than enforced, is vital to promoting environmental sustainability in and amongst nations states.
In this age of environmental degradation, International laws governing the actions of Nation States are more important that ever, in ensuring global sustainable development. “This paper shall show that although nation states cannot be forced to abide by international environmental law, certain mechanisms exist to promote compliance, making international environmental law an important tool in safeguarding the global environment. The first section of this paper shall briefly outline what International Environmental Law is and why, if it is so important, stronger methods of enforcement are not used. Whilst, the second part of this paper shall outline several methods of encouraging compliance and discussing the effectiveness of each in order to show….”
International Environmental Law (IEL) derives from traditions and agreements between nation states (states) in regard to the global environment. The modern International system of laws has, arguably since the peace of Westphalia,[1] rested on the principle of sovereignty, the idea that nation states are autonomous bodies that have supreme authority their territory and population.[2] This, by definition alone, gives rise to the concept of international anarchy, as a supreme authority with a state denies the existence of any supra-authority above the state[3] such as a world government.” This concept of “international anarchy” is a fundamental premise of Realism[4], the belief that international realm is a hostile environment, where self-interested states struggle for power[5]. This can be contrasted with idealism, which …
IEL is best looked at from an idealist perspective (explain idealist and realist etc)”
From a idealist perspective (an emphasis on...