Journal of Environmental Law - current issue

Environment Law, Regulation and Governance: Shifting Architectures

Gunningham, N. — 2009-06-23

Environmental law and policy has come a long way since the birth of the US Environmental Protection Agency in 1970 and the launch of the first European environmental policy in 1972. Today law is no longer centre stage but simply one instrument among others in the environmental regulator's toolkit. And talk of regulation may itself be giving way to the broader concept of environmental governance. This article examines the evolution of environmental law, regulation and governance over almost four decades. It explores the major initiatives of that period and the lessons that can be learned from them, it maps shifting regulatory architectures and explains what has worked and why and it considers the changing nature of the environmental challenge itself. Finally, it seeks to identify which particular architectures are most suited to deal with particular types of environmental problems.

Maturity and Methodology: Starting a Debate about Environmental Law Scholarship

Fisher, E., Lange, B., Scotford, E., Carlarne, C. — 2009-06-23

Many environmental law scholars perceive environmental law scholarship as immature. We discuss why this self-perception has arisen and argue that a common theme is methodology. We argue that the subject can only mature when we face its methodological challenges head on, and we identify four particular issues that have given rise to these challenges: the speed and scale of legal/regulatory change, the interdisciplinary nature of the subject, the heavy reliance in environmental law on a diverse range of governance arrangements and the multi-jurisdictional nature of the subject. We argue that there is a need for debate in the face of these challenges and identify some starting points for that debate.

'Maturity and Methodology': A Personal Reflection

Macrory, R. — 2009-06-23

Finding Autonomy in International Environmental Law and Governance

French, D. — 2009-06-23

This article will consider the relevance of the notion of autonomy within a particular body of international law, namely international environmental law. Without the existence of an over-arching institutional framework on which the autonomy of the discipline might be otherwise premised, the article considers the complexity of understanding and applying autonomy within a diverse field of legal rules and institutional settings. The article will suggest, at least in international environmental law, that the notion of autonomy encompasses a wide range of meanings, ranging from the perceived-utopian (the ‘fable’) right through to the perceived-dystopian (the ‘threat’). In fact, the reality of autonomy in international environmental law is perhaps more nuanced and incremental—though not necessarily any the less significant for all that.

The Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory): Legal Black Hole or Environmental Bright Spot?--A Reply to Sand

Sheppard, C., Tamelander, J., Turner, J. — 2009-06-23

Diego Garcia Legal Black Hole--A Response to Sheppard et al

Sand, P. H. — 2009-06-23

Liability for Oil Pollution Damage versus Liability for Waste Management: The Polluter Pays Principle at the Rescue of the Victims: Case C-188/07, Commune de Mesquer v Total France SA [2008] 3 CMLR 16, [2009] Env LR 9

de Sadeleer, N. — 2009-06-23

This landmark European Court of Justice (ECJ) judgment on one hand, provides clarifications as to the scope of the EC definition of waste with respect to transported heavy fuel oil that was accidentally discarded by a tanker during a storm and, on the other, adjudicates that the cleaning up of heavy fuel oil can be imposed on the companies who created the waste, notably in their capacity as former holder or producer of the product from which the waste came.

The Rise and Fall of Access to Justice in The Netherlands

Tolsma, H., de Graaf, K., Jans, J. — 2009-06-23

This article analyses the development of access to justice for environmental organisations in Dutch law. It consists of two parts. The first part focuses on the rise of environmental organisations' right of access to the courts, and considers case law and legislation relating to the General Administrative Law Act and environmental permitting. It also discusses possibilities for environmental organisations to bring proceedings before the civil courts. The second part addresses the dismantling of the right of access to the courts. Recent developments in the legislation and case law are discussed as well as possible future changes in this respect. The article concludes with some final remarks concerning the present situation in the Netherlands in relation to the Aarhus Convention.

Significant UK Environmental Cases: 2008-09

Thornton, J. — 2009-06-23

Environmental Liability and Ecological Damage in European Law. Edited by MONIKA HINTEREGGER

Wilde, M. — 2009-06-23

Environmental Law, Policy and Economics: Reclaiming the Environmental Agenda. By NICHOLAS ASHFORD and CHARLES CALDART

Fisher, L. — 2009-06-23

Biodiversity, Conservation, Law and Livelihoods: Bridging the North-South Divide. Edited by MICHAEL I. JEFFERY, JEREMY FIRESTONE and KAREN BUBNA-LITIC

Alam, S. — 2009-06-23

Environmental Justice & the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. International & Domestic Legal Perspectives. Edited by LAURA WESTRA

Ruru, J. — 2009-06-23

Reconciling Human Existence with Ecological Integrity: Science, Ethics, Economics and Law. Edited by LAURA WESTRA, KLAUS BOSSELMANN and RICHARD WESTRA

Grear, A. — 2009-06-23