Multiple International Courts and the 'Fragmentation' of International Environmental Law

Sydney Law School Research Paper No. 07/14

Australian Year Book of International Law, Vol. 25, pp. 227-271, 2006

46 Pages Posted: 9 Mar 2007

See all articles by Tim Stephens

Tim Stephens

The University of Sydney - Faculty of Law

Abstract

A hallmark of contemporary international litigation is that it takes place in an array of adjudicative institutions including permanent courts, ad hoc arbitral tribunals, regional courts, and bodies with highly specialised subject-matter jurisdiction. The parallel operation of multiple judicial institutions poses a range of practical difficulties for international dispute settlement, and has introduced considerable unpredictability in some well-known environmental disputes.

This article assesses a related but less examined question, namely whether in resolving disputes touching upon environmental issues some of these adjudicative bodies are destabilising key organising rules and principles of international environmental law by adopting parochial approaches that suit the narrow purposes of non-environmental issue-specific regimes. Such analysis is now clearly desirable having regard to the sizeable expansion in the body of international environmental case law.

Keywords: International environmental law, dispute settlement, international courts, 'fragmentation' of international law

JEL Classification: K10, K33, K32

Suggested Citation

Stephens, Tim, Multiple International Courts and the 'Fragmentation' of International Environmental Law. Sydney Law School Research Paper No. 07/14, Australian Year Book of International Law, Vol. 25, pp. 227-271, 2006, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=969569

Tim Stephens (Contact Author)

The University of Sydney - Faculty of Law ( email )

New Law Building, F10
The University of Sydney
Sydney, NSW 2006
Australia

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