The Academy is an institution for the study and teaching of Public and Private International Law and related subjects. Its purpose is to encourage a thorough and impartial examination of the problems arising from international relations in the field of law. The courses deal with the theoretical and practical aspects of the subject, including legislation and case law.
All courses at the Academy are, in principle, published in the language in which they were delivered in the
Collected Courses of the Hague Academy of International Law.
The contents of this volume consist of:
• International Protection of the Environment by M.A. FITZMAURICE, Professor at Queen Mary University of London.
To access the abstract texts for this volume please click here
I. General introduction and historical survey.
Part I. Introduction.
Part II. General survey.
Part. III. Problems of modern protection of the environment: the South-North dialogue.
II. International environmental law: sources, formation and kinds of legal rules.
Part I. Introductory.
Part II. The sources of international environmental law.
Part III. Soft law.
Part IV. The problem of norms
jus cogens and international crimes in relation to environmental law.
III. The developments of new concepts and principles.
Part I. Common heritage of mankind (CHM).
Part II. The doctrine of common concern.
Part III. The doctrine of common interest Protection of global commons.
Part IV. Intergenerational equity.
Part V. Conclusions.
IV. Responsibility for environmental damage. 1: State responsibility.
Part I. Introductory.
Part II. State responsibility for environmental damage
ex delicto.
Part III. Responsibility for environmental damage: liability for environmental
sine delicto.
V. Some general principles of the modern approach to environmental protection - the elements of preventive approach.
Part I. The precautionary principle.
Part II. Environmental Impact Assessment.
Part III. Polluter-pays principle.
Part IV. Due diligence.
Part V. Some tentative conclusions.
Part VI. Liability for environmental damage and the Institute of International Law: re-affirmation of the preventive approach.
Part VII. Civil liability regimes.
VI. Human rights and the environment - right to a clean environment.
Part I. General survey of the human rights to a clean environment.
Part II. Jurisprudence of tribunals in relation to a human rights to a clean environment.
VII. Environmental dispute avoidance and settlement.
Part I. Introductory - dispute settlement versus dispute avoidance.
Part II. Dispute avoidance mechanisms.
Part III. Non-compliance mechanisms.
Part IV. The International Court of Justice and the settlement of environmental disputes.
Part V. Jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice, in particular environmental cases.
Part VI. Some remarks on the possible broadening of the scope of the ICJ's jurisdiction.
Part VII. Other possible forums of environmental dispute settlement and avoidance.
VIII. Case studies to illustrate the practical and theoretical problems of contemporary international environmental law.
Case I. The protection of the ozone layer.
Case II. Water resource co-operation.
Part I. Some general principles.
Part II. Particular case studies. Conclusions on case studies.
Selected bibliography.