El control de la aplicación del derecho internacional del medio ambiente

This chapter addresses the theoretical and doctrinal foundations of compliance control of the different layers of public international legal rules regarding environmental protection. After a short historical contextualisation of the emergence of international environmental law, the chapter focuses on the general trend in multilateral environmental agreements (MEA) toward the establishment of compliance management mechanisms. These pursue a pragmatic set of objectives, aiming at 'avoiding disputes' and adapting to emerging regulatory trends in global environmental governance. The chapter briefly assesses the operation and overall effectiveness of these compliance mechanisms. Against this backdrop, it also delves into the relationship of such compliance mechanisms with adjudicative dispute settlement before international courts and tribunals. It does so by discussing some of the recent developments in ICJ jurisprudence regarding the litigation of disputes concerning the application and interpretation of multilateral treaties, such as MEA, which establish obligations that protect common interests of humankind.