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The Role of The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in the Development of International Environmental Law
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 March 2016
Extract
Little or no attention was given to the development of international environmental law prior to the Stockholm Conference of 1972. Nor was it intended that the Conference should consider legal questions: it was to be merely a technical, scientific meeting. During preparations for it, however, a change in character occurred, and the Conference became a politically oriented endeavour designed to make policy decisions on global environmental problems. This change permitted the Twenty-seven Power Preparatory Committee responsible for the preparation for the Conference to concentrate on broad policy considerations. In this context, a real concern for the future of international environmental law was evident.
- Type
- Notes and Comments
- Information
- Canadian Yearbook of International Law/Annuaire canadien de droit international , Volume 12 , 1975 , pp. 255 - 266
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Canadian Council on International Law / Conseil Canadien de Droit International, representing the Board of Editors, Canadian Yearbook of International Law / Comité de Rédaction, Annuaire Canadien de Droit International 1975
References
1 The United Nations Conference oh the Human Environment, Stockholm, June 5 to 16, 1972.
2 Declaration of the UN Conference on the Human Environment, UN Doc. A/CONF. 48/14.
3 International Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by the Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, adopted in London, England, November 13, 1972, in 11 Int’l Leg. Mat. 1294 (1972).
4 Action Plan for the Human Environment, UN Doc. A/CONF. 48/14.
5 Ibid, 119.
6 UNGA Resolution 2995 (XXVII), January 19, 1973, paragraph 2.
7 UNGA Resolution 2996 (XXVII), January 19, 1973.
8 UNGA Resolution 3129 (XXVIII), December 13, 1973.
9 Report of the Governing Council of UNEP, UNEP/GC/10, July 3, 1973, at 5.
10 The specific areas referred to during the consultations included: the marine environment, warfare, legal advisory services, weather and climate modification, state responsibility, and dispute avoidance and settlement.
11 Report of Governing Council of UNEP in its Second Session, UNEP/GC/26, April 10, 1974.
12 Ibid, at 56-58, 62.
13 Note by the Executive Director of UNEP, UNEP/GC/L. 24, March 25, 1974, at 3.
14 UNEP/GC/26, at 59, paragraph 178.
15 UNEP/GC/26, at 62-64.
16 Action Plan for the Human Environment, UN Doc. A/CONF. 48/14.
17 UNEP/GC/26, at 172.
18 Ibid.,174.
19 Ibid., 174.
20 Ibid., 167.
21 “The marine environment and all the living organisms which it supports are of vital importance to humanity, and all people have an interest in assuring that this environment is so managed that its quality and resources are not impaired. This applies especially to coastal area resources. The capacity of the sea to assimilate wastes and render them harmless and its ability to regenerate natural resources are not unlimited. Proper management is required and measures to prevent and control marine pollution must be regarded as an essential element in this management of the oceans and seas and their natural resources.”
22 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization, MP/CONF/WP 35, November 2, 1973.
23 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil, 1954, IMCO Document 1967.4, 12 U.S.T. 2989; T.I.A.S. 4900; 17 U.S.T. 1523; T.I.A.S. 6109.
24 Article 4(2) of the 1973 Convention provides:
“(2) Any violation of the requirement of the present Convention within jurisdiction of any Party to the Convention shall be prohibited and sanctions shall be established therefor under the law of that Party. Whenever such a violation occurs, that Party shall either:
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(a)
(a) cause proceedings to be taken in accordance with its law; or
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(b)
(b) furnish to the Administration of the ship such information and evidence as may be in its possession that a violation has occurred.”
25 Article 9 of the Convention provides, inter alia:
“(2) Nothing in the present Convention shall prejudice the codification and development of the law of the sea by the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea convened pursuant to Resolution 2750 C(XXV) of the General Assembly of the United Nations nor the present or future claims and legal views of any State concerning the law of the sea and the nature and extent of coastal and flag State jurisdiction.
(3) The term ‘jurisdiction’ in the present Convention shall be construed in the light of international law in force at the time of application or interpretation of the present Convention.”
26 The text of the Article as considered by the Conference was as follows:
“(1) Nothing in the present Convention shall be construed as derogating from the powers of any Party to the Convention to take more strin-gent measures, where specific circumstances so warrant, within its jurisdiction, in respect of discharge standards.
(2) A Party shall not, within its jurisdiction, in respect of ships to which the Convention applies other than its own ships, impose additional requirements with regard to ship design and equipment in respect of pollution control. The requirements of this paragraph do not apply to waters the particular characteristics of which, in accordance with accepted scientific criteria, render the environment exceptionally vulnerable.
(3) Parties which adopt special measures in accordance with the present Article shall notify them to the Organization without delay. The Organization shall inform Parties to the Convention about these measures.”
27 The 1973 London Conference was organized into five committees, one of which was charged with the responsibility of drafting the articles for the proposed 1973 Convention on the Prevention of Pollution from Ships.
28 Artide XI of the 1954 Convention provides:
“Nothing in the present Convention shall be construed as derogating from the powers of any Contracting Government to take measures within its jurisdiction in respect of any matter to which the Convention relates or as extending the jurisdiction of any Contracting Government.”
29 In this connection the following statement submitted by the Canadian delegation at the Conference may be of interest:
“The Canadian delegation to the International Conference on Marine Pollution, 1973, noting that draft Article 9 [see supra note 26, for text] of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships has not been included in the final text of the Convention adopted by the Conference, submits the following declaration:
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(a)
(a) Questions concerning the jurisdiction of coastal states in relation to the prevention of pollution from ships, and in particular the extent of such jurisdiction, are to be determined by the Law of the Sea Conference to be convened pursuant to General Assembly Resolution 2750 C (XXV).
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(b)
(b) On the other hand, the purpose of draft Article 9 of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships was to define the extent, if any, to which coastal states Parties would undertake to refrain within their jurisdiction from imposing their own national standards in respect of matters to which the Convention relates.
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(c)
(c) In the absence of draft Article 9 from the final text of the Convention adopted by the Conference some Contracting States will contend that their freedom to act within their jurisdiction remains complete and unimpaired. Other states will interpret the absence of draft Article 9 or some similar provision as implying that coastal states parties to the Convention have undertaken not to impose within their jurisdiction standards other than those embodied in the Convention; the Canadian delegation, however, rejects this latter view.
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(d)
(d) The Canadian delegation regrets that the Conference should have left unresolved so significant an area of misunderstanding. It notes with satisfaction, however, that draft Article 9 was approved by a considerable majority in Committee and only narrowly failed to secure a two-thirds majority in the Plenary session of the Conference.
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(e)
(e) In the absence of any provision restricting the powers of Contracting States to take measures within their jurisdiction in respect of matters to which the Convention relates, the Canadian delegation formally declares its view that nothing in the Convention can be construed as derogating from such powers. The Canadian delegation reserves all rights of the Government of Canada to take any and all measures within its jurisdiction for the protection of its coasts and the adjacent marine environment from pollution from ships.”