Question

why is enforcement of environmental legislation necessary at the international level ?​

Answer 1

ɪɴᴛᴇʀɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴇɴᴠɪʀᴏɴᴍᴇɴᴛᴀʟ ʟᴀᴡ ᴀʟʀᴇᴀᴅʏ ʀᴇsᴇᴍʙʟᴇs ᴅᴏᴍᴇsᴛɪᴄ ʟᴀᴡ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴀɴ ɪᴛ ᴅᴏᴇs ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴀʀᴇᴀs ᴏғ ᴄʟᴀssɪᴄ ɪɴᴛᴇʀɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ʟᴀᴡ. ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇᴀsᴏɴ ɪs ᴄʟᴇᴀʀ: ᴇɴᴠɪʀᴏɴᴍᴇɴᴛᴀʟ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ʜᴀs ʟᴇss ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ ᴡɪᴛʜ sᴛᴀᴛᴇ-ᴛᴏ-sᴛᴀᴛᴇ ᴀғғᴀɪʀs ᴛʜᴀɴ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴄᴛɪᴠɪᴛɪᴇs ᴏғ ɪɴᴅɪᴠɪᴅᴜᴀʟs, ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ᴀʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ғᴏᴄᴜs ᴏғ ᴍᴏsᴛ ᴅᴏᴍᴇsᴛɪᴄ ʟᴀᴡ.

Answer 2

Answer:

The development of detailed, often ambitious laws designed to protect the environment over the past 30 years has been a striking phenomenon of our age. Laws in the statute book may provide some comfort, but without effective implementation and enforcement they are meaningless. A Member of the European Parliament once remarked "We are good midwives but bad mothers" -- implying that legislators often pay more attention to passing new laws than considering the equally challenging issues of implementation, and what happens after the law has come into force.

The potential gap between the formal law and its enforcement is seen in many fields of law, but it raises particular challenges in the field of environmental protection. In areas of law such as competition, social security, or consumer protection there are clearly defined victims with legal interests who can and will ensure that the law is enforced. In contrast, the environment is often unowned in legal terms -- with the consequence that the environment dies in silence, it has been said. The responsibility for its legal protection lies largely on public authorities -- the police, local authorities, or specialised regulatory agencies -- often under competing policy priorities and severe resource constraints.

Yet, as this Thematic Issue demonstrates, in recent years far greater attention is being paid to the question of enforcement of environmental law -- how it should most effectively be implemented, how best to ensure compliance, and how best to deal with breaches of environmental law where they occur.

These issues can raise delicate political issues at both national and regional levels. Deciding how to employ resources and respond to breaches of environmental law often involves considerable discretion amongst enforcement authorities, and national and local administrations have their own traditions and culture in which they operate. Imposing over-elaborate, top-down solutions may therefore be inappropriate. Within the European Union, environmental legislation has generally left the question of enforcement to the discretion of Member States, and it is rare for EU Regulations or Directives to specify the type of sanction that must be employed. The Court of Justice of the European Union has been equally reticent to trespass on the discretion of national authorities in this context, and simply relied upon the general principle that any sanctions employed must be effective, proportionate, and dissuasive.