The Development of Global Environmental Law (HSC SSCE Legal Studies): Revision Notes

The Development of Global Environmental Law

Introduction

Environmental protection emerged as a legal concern relatively recently in human history. Initially, the law did not prioritise environmental issues because the focus was on economic development and industrial growth. However, as the harmful effects of pollution and environmental degradation became more visible through major disasters and scientific evidence, both local communities and international bodies began to respond through legal mechanisms.

Local activism and domestic legislation

Grassroots environmental movements

Local environmental concerns often serve as the starting point for broader legal change. The principle "Think globally, act locally" captures how community-level initiatives can contribute to planetary environmental health. Individual citizens who experience environmental harm firsthand frequently become motivated to learn more about environmental issues and take action.

This awareness has led individuals to form lobby groups and pressure groups that serve two key functions:

• Educating the wider public about environmental threats
• Pressuring governments to enact protective legislation

Pollution as a catalyst for legal reform

During the 1970s, pollution became a prominent public concern, particularly after several major environmental disasters worldwide demonstrated the severe human and ecological costs of unregulated industrial activity.

Pollution refers to environmental damage caused by the discharge or emission of solid, liquid or gaseous materials into the environment.

Categories of Australian environmental legislation

In response to public pressure, industrialised nations including Australia developed domestic legislation during the 1970s focused on pollution prevention and control. Australian environmental law at both state and federal levels generally falls into two main categories:

1. Environmental impact assessment

This is a systematic process for examining and evaluating the potential environmental effects of proposed activities before they occur. The process requires developers to consider environmental consequences of projects likely to significantly affect the environment.

2. Pollution control legislation

This category establishes standards for environmental quality and regulates activities that may cause pollution. Pollution control legislation typically:

• Sets quality standards for air, water and soil
• Identifies activities with pollution potential
• Restricts such activities through conditions, permits or approval requirements

These legislative frameworks aim to maintain environmental quality by limiting harmful emissions and discharges before they enter the environment.

International conferences and treaties

The emergence of international environmental cooperation

The 1970s and 1980s witnessed growing recognition that environmental threats transcended national boundaries, requiring coordinated international responses. This period saw numerous international conferences and multilateral treaties addressing global environmental concerns.

Major international environmental conferences

Stockholm Conference (1972)

The UN Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm, Sweden, was the first major international conference to address broadly defined environmental issues. The conference was motivated primarily by concern about regional pollution crossing national boundaries, particularly acid rain affecting northern Europe. This landmark conference established that environmental protection required international cooperation rather than isolated national efforts.

Rio Conference (1992)

The UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), commonly called the 'Rio Conference', took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This conference produced three significant conventions collectively known as the 'Rio Conventions', including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (the 'Climate Change Convention'). The Rio Conference represented a major step forward in comprehensive international environmental law-making.

Johannesburg Summit (2002)

The World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, continued the work begun at Stockholm and Rio, focusing on implementing and reviewing international environmental commitments.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

UNCLOS resulted from the third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea, which occurred from 1973 to 1982. This treaty was unique because it:

• Dealt comprehensively with a wide range of maritime issues
• Achieved global reach rather than regional focus
• Represented a codification of existing customary international law
• Replaced four previous treaties from 1958 governing nation-states' rights and responsibilities regarding the sea and its resources

Instruments and their implementation

An instrument is a document by which some legal objective is achieved. Instruments may be:

• Binding: Such as statutes, treaties and deeds, which create legal obligations
• Non-binding: Such as guidelines, declarations and recommendations, which provide guidance without creating enforceable obligations

International conferences often produce instruments that require subsequent implementation at the national level. The relationship between international treaties and domestic law varies significantly between countries.

Treaty ratification and domestic implementation

Ratification is a nation's formal declaration of consent to be bound by a treaty and to give it domestic effect. However, the legal effect of ratification differs depending on the country's constitutional system:

• Some countries: A ratified treaty automatically becomes part of domestic law, and citizens are directly bound by its provisions
• Australia and many others: A treaty does not have direct legal effect unless and until it is incorporated into domestic law through enactment of a statute by Parliament