On 17 July 1998, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (hereinafter: the ICC Statute) was adopted. There is no doubt about the significance of the legislation of the ICC Statute to international criminal law. The discussion at the United Nations (UN) on the idea of an international court for criminal proceedings started soon after the establishment of the UN, in the legislation of the Genocide Convention and other works, but encountered a deadlock in the 1950s. Considering how difficult it was to reach an agreement on this issue, it is astonishing to see that the ICC Statute became substantive law a half-century after the adoption of the Genocide Convention. This phenomenon demonstrates the evolution in the environment and consciousness of the international community through time.

In January 2000, a tailings pond operated at Baia Mare in Romania collapsed, spilling 120 tonnes of cyanide and heavy metals into the Lapus River. The pollution flowed into the Somes and Tisa, two Hungarian rivers, and into the Danube and then into the Black Sea. The pond was operated by AURUL, a joint-venture between Esmeralda Exploration of Australia and REMIN, a Romanian state-owned mining company. It had the dual responsibilities of extracting gold, silver and other minerals from an abandoned tailings pond, and also transferring the tailings from their existing site, which was close to a residential area, to a remote site. The tailings pond had collapsed only after seven months of operation. This accident, which has been described as ‘Europe’s worst environmental disaster since Chernobyl' caused extensive environmental damage in its wake. In particular, it was alleged that the pollution caused the death of over one million kilograms of fish in Hungary and seriously disrupted the livelihoods of people. It was feared that some endangered fish species might have been wiped out permanently. The accident also resulted in the destruction of a large number of plant and wildlife species in the river systems. In July of the same year, Hungary sought compensation of US$ 110 million from the Australian company which was responsible for operating the mine. Hungary also announced that it was considering taking legal action against Romania.

The 1988 GATT panel decision in Canada-Import, Distribution and Sale of Alcoholic Drinks by Provincial Marketing Authorities (hereinafter: Canada Liquor) involved Canadian subcentral government regulatory objectives aimed at, among other things, discouraging over consumption of alcoholic beverages, with the particular regulatory limitations chosen falling upon foreign suppliers who regarded their GATT rights as having been violated. The 1987 decision in Japan-Customs Duties, Taxes and Labelling Practices on Imported Wines and Alcoholic Beverages (hereinafter: Japan Liquor), though not concerning measures adopted with an eye towards steering people away from drinking, nonetheless had occasion to comment on the irrelevancy of consumer traditions in ascertaining whether domestic products are to be seen as ‘like’ or different from certain imported products in the context of evaluating a claim of GATT national treatment violation. The case of Thailand-Restrictions on Importation of and Internal Taxes on Cigarettes (hereinafter: Thai Cigarette) saw a GATT panel in 1990 examine efforts by the government of Thailand to specifically address health matters relating to smoking by implementing measures affecting imports of cigarettes.