Protection of International Watercourses The purpose of the Thesis is to analyze the present degree of the protection of international watercourses and to describe three main levels: international law, European law and Czech law. Although the issue of environmental protection and sustainable use of international watercourses is considered to be one of the most significant problems of the present society, the topic has been rather neglected by Czech scholars. Analytical, logical and historical methods were primarily applied in the study. The thesis is composed of four chapters, which are furthermore divided into sections and subsections. The term "international watercourses" usually designates rivers, lakes and groundwater sources shared by two or more states. Chapter one deals with international customary law (especially equitable utilization and no harm principle), international treaty law (global and regional cooperation as well as non- binding documents) and selected major cases important for the evolution of protection of water. In the past, international water law concerned mostly with allocating water supply between riparian states. Nowadays the law concentrates more on permissible uses of watercourses and preventing pollution of freshwater resources as well as water ecosystems. The second...

A presente dissertação tem como tema o direito à água e objetiva compreender como se dá sua inserção no Direito Internacional. Para tanto, pretende-se analisar o tratamento dado pelo Direito Internacional do Meio Ambiente e especialmente pelo Direito Internacional dos Direitos Humanos às questões relativas ao acesso à água, assim como à prioridade na alocação dos recursos hídricos para a satisfação das necessidades humanas. Inicialmente, procede-se a uma investigação analítica das principais discussões a respeito do acesso e da preservação da água, notadamente aquelas realizadas em conferências internacionais de cunho ambiental e explicitadas nas diversas declarações da comunidade internacional. Dedica-se, ainda de forma analítica, a refazer o caminho que levou ao reconhecimento do direito à água no âmbito dos direitos humanos, com o intuito de definir as suas bases normativas e jurisprudenciais. Finalmente, visando fornecer parâmetros doutrinários, normativos e jurisprudenciais para a ampla compreensão da presença e dos contornos do direito à água no Direito Internacional, procede-se à análise de seu conteúdo em termos de direitos e obrigações, das implicações de sua afirmação como um direito humano, assim como dos diversos aspectos de sua natureza jurídica. / The subject of this academic work is the right to water and it aims to understand the insertion of this human right in International Law. With that in mind, the present study intends to analyze the ways which International Environmental Law and mainly International Human Rights Law deal with issues of water access, as well as with priorities in the allocation of water resources to supply the human needs. It initially proceeds to an analytical investigation of the main discussions with regards to water access and water conservation, mostly carried out at international conferences and announced in a number of declarations on environmental issues made by the international community. This study also commits to revise the path that led to the recognition of the right to water in the human rights field, aiming to determine its normative and jurisprudential basis. Finally, in order to provide doctrinal, normative and jurisprudential parameters for a better understanding of the presence and configuration of the right to water in International Law, this work subsequently focuses on the analysis of its content in terms of rights and obligations, on the implications of its formulation as a human right, as well as on the varied aspects of its legal nature.

A presente dissertação tem como tema o direito à água e objetiva compreender como se dá sua inserção no Direito Internacional. Para tanto, pretende-se analisar o tratamento dado pelo Direito Internacional do Meio Ambiente e especialmente pelo Direito Internacional dos Direitos Humanos às questões relativas ao acesso à água, assim como à prioridade na alocação dos recursos hídricos para a satisfação das necessidades humanas. Inicialmente, procede-se a uma investigação analítica das principais discussões a respeito do acesso e da preservação da água, notadamente aquelas realizadas em conferências internacionais de cunho ambiental e explicitadas nas diversas declarações da comunidade internacional. Dedica-se, ainda de forma analítica, a refazer o caminho que levou ao reconhecimento do direito à água no âmbito dos direitos humanos, com o intuito de definir as suas bases normativas e jurisprudenciais. Finalmente, visando fornecer parâmetros doutrinários, normativos e jurisprudenciais para a ampla compreensão da presença e dos contornos do direito à água no Direito Internacional, procede-se à análise de seu conteúdo em termos de direitos e obrigações, das implicações de sua afirmação como um direito humano, assim como dos diversos aspectos de sua natureza jurídica. / The subject of this academic work is the right to water and it aims to understand the insertion of this human right in International Law. With that in mind, the present study intends to analyze the ways which International Environmental Law and mainly International Human Rights Law deal with issues of water access, as well as with priorities in the allocation of water resources to supply the human needs. It initially proceeds to an analytical investigation of the main discussions with regards to water access and water conservation, mostly carried out at international conferences and announced in a number of declarations on environmental issues made by the international community. This study also commits to revise the path that led to the recognition of the right to water in the human rights field, aiming to determine its normative and jurisprudential basis. Finally, in order to provide doctrinal, normative and jurisprudential parameters for a better understanding of the presence and configuration of the right to water in International Law, this work subsequently focuses on the analysis of its content in terms of rights and obligations, on the implications of its formulation as a human right, as well as on the varied aspects of its legal nature.

Climate change is a critical sustainable development issue with implications for the environment, economies and society as we know it. The problem of climate change is caused by some countries in parts of the world that has a direct effect on people and natural resources in other parts of the world. Climate change is the effect of increased production of Greenhouse gases (GHGs). Due to the vast complexity of the climate change regime the study does not attempt to be comprehensive or conclusive. The aim of the study is to critically evaluate and determine the purpose, enforceability, legal nature, shortcomings and strengths of the non-binding Copenhagen Accord and how the international climate change regime will evolve after the Copenhagen Accord. The study starts with a brief explanation of the international climate change regime and its development, including international environmental law principles, specifically the common but differentiated responsibility principle. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has the ultimate objective to achieve the stabilisation of GHG concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. The Conference of the Parties (COPs) is the ultimate decision-making and supreme body of the UNFCCC and is authorised to make and implement decisions to promote the implementation of the UNFCCC, it further has the power to adopt new protocols under the UNFCCC and plays a substantial role in the development of new obligations by the parties to the convention. Various COPs, their respective adopted decisions and resolutions which played an important role in the development of the climate change regime are discussed. This includes COP 1 that lead to the Berlin Mandate; COP 3 and the Kyoto Protocol; COP 7 and the Marrakech Accords; COP 11 that marked the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol; COP 13 and the Bali Action Plan. COP 15 in Copenhagen was internationally expected and intended to be the breakthrough in addressing the post 2012 period. As is evident from the content of this study the result of COP 15 at Copenhagen means different challenges for different countries and the “bottom up” architecture of the accord could help encourage and reinforce national actions. An overview of the effect of the Copenhagen Accord on the climate change regime, with specific reference to COP 16 in Cancun, is then done. The “bottom up” architecture of the Copenhagen Accord was brought into the official UNFCCC process by the Cancun Agreements that were reached at COP 16. The study mostly comprised of a literature study, which reviewed the relevant international environmental law dealing with climate change, taking into account customary international law; international treaties and conventions; government documents, policies and reports; textbooks and academic journals as well as electronic material obtained from various internet sources. / Thesis (LLM (Environmental Law and Governance))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

Climate change is a critical sustainable development issue with implications for the environment, economies and society as we know it. The problem of climate change is caused by some countries in parts of the world that has a direct effect on people and natural resources in other parts of the world. Climate change is the effect of increased production of Greenhouse gases (GHGs). Due to the vast complexity of the climate change regime the study does not attempt to be comprehensive or conclusive. The aim of the study is to critically evaluate and determine the purpose, enforceability, legal nature, shortcomings and strengths of the non-binding Copenhagen Accord and how the international climate change regime will evolve after the Copenhagen Accord. The study starts with a brief explanation of the international climate change regime and its development, including international environmental law principles, specifically the common but differentiated responsibility principle. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has the ultimate objective to achieve the stabilisation of GHG concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. The Conference of the Parties (COPs) is the ultimate decision-making and supreme body of the UNFCCC and is authorised to make and implement decisions to promote the implementation of the UNFCCC, it further has the power to adopt new protocols under the UNFCCC and plays a substantial role in the development of new obligations by the parties to the convention. Various COPs, their respective adopted decisions and resolutions which played an important role in the development of the climate change regime are discussed. This includes COP 1 that lead to the Berlin Mandate; COP 3 and the Kyoto Protocol; COP 7 and the Marrakech Accords; COP 11 that marked the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol; COP 13 and the Bali Action Plan. COP 15 in Copenhagen was internationally expected and intended to be the breakthrough in addressing the post 2012 period. As is evident from the content of this study the result of COP 15 at Copenhagen means different challenges for different countries and the “bottom up” architecture of the accord could help encourage and reinforce national actions. An overview of the effect of the Copenhagen Accord on the climate change regime, with specific reference to COP 16 in Cancun, is then done. The “bottom up” architecture of the Copenhagen Accord was brought into the official UNFCCC process by the Cancun Agreements that were reached at COP 16. The study mostly comprised of a literature study, which reviewed the relevant international environmental law dealing with climate change, taking into account customary international law; international treaties and conventions; government documents, policies and reports; textbooks and academic journals as well as electronic material obtained from various internet sources. / Thesis (LLM (Environmental Law and Governance))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

Chapter one offers an introduction and a general outline of argument. Chapter two lays out the current scholarship on human rights and the environment and presents rejoinders to three prominent lines of objection to linking human rights and environmental interests: conceptual, those arising from issues of recognition, vagueness and conflicts between human rights, ecological, especially from those seeking protections for the environment regardless of its utility to humans, and those wishing to expand human rights beyond human interests, and adjudication concerns, namely from those sceptical that the polycentric nature of environmental issues create an insurmountable barrier to any significant improvements through judicially enforced human rights. Chapter three introduces and defends the environmental minimum as a normative framework for systematically conceptualizing the relationship between human rights and the environment. As such, it is chiefly concerned with ensuring a good faith regulatory engagement with environmental pollution: specific risks to recognised human rights trigger the environmental minimum, which then provides minimum standards (legal, established and emerging) that set the standard of review for determining whether a violation of human rights has occurred. Chapter four deals with the crucial empirical argument, outlining how the framework can systematically account for and consistently guide the further development of the case law under the European Convention on Human Rights. This conclusion rests on a comprehensive analysis of the environmental case law since 1950 using quantitative methods to expose doctrinal patterns previously not recognized in legal scholarship. Finally, chapter five explores and evaluates the potential benefits of the environmental minimum framework beyond human rights adjudication. Specifically, it investigates benefits to the varied fields of public law, regulatory policy, International Environmental Law, constitutionalism, and other international human rights treaties.

The thesis provides an analysis of the developments in international environmental law achieved through judicial activity of international courts from circa 2005 onwards. Analysed is the relevant practice of the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the European Court for Human Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. First chapter presents the general characteristics of their judicial activity in this area, while the subsequent chapters deal with each of the institutions, analysing the outcomes of their activity, particularly with regard to specifying obligations of states and the interpretation of human rights in connection with environmental protection, and the developments in the courts' handling of environmental cases. Attention is also given to possible setting up of a specialised international court for the environment.

Magister Legum - LLM / This mini-thesis analyses the international legal framework governing the protection of the natural environment during armed conflicts. It critically examines the normative rules in international humanitarian law and international environmental law in respect of environmental damage during armed conflicts and it highlights the strengths and shortcomings of international law in this regard. Furthermore, this thesis investigates how the regulatory structures of the African Union (AU) address the problem of environmental damage during armed conflict. It draws on the aforementioned analyses to determine how regional law in Africa differs from the international regime and in what ways the regional framework may serve to complement the international legal regime in order to strengthen the protection of the environment during armed conflict on the continent.

Magister Legum - LLM / The International Committee of the Red Cross/Crescent (ICRC) has been the only agency promoting the observance of the law of armed conflict. It has invested considerably in finding solutions to protecting people and regulates the means and methods of warfare. Throughout the development of the law of armed conflict, the protection of the environment was never the centre of focus. From the early 1868 Declaration of Saint Petersburg to the Hague Regulations of 1907, attention was given to weakening the military forces of the enemy and the right of the belligerents not to destroy or seize the enemy’s property, unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war. Through AP I, the basic principle of IHL was reaffirmed. The concepts of military necessity and proportionality became clearer, permitting only those acts of war which are proportional to the lawful objective of a military operation. Considering the cruelty experienced through the crises that occurred in the RC, it is therefore imperative for the administration to enforce their observation. In the light of the above background the aims of this research paper are to seek to explore the challenges that the current RC administration is facing in implementing IHL and IEL principles. In addition, the research paper will analyse the possibilities to promote the implementation of IHL and IEL instruments within the public domain, mostly the army, to dissipate any ignorance that occur. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has also made it clear that an obligation rests upon states to take environmental considerations into account during armed conflict in so far as these relate to states’ military objectives

[pt] Considerando a insuficiência do direito internacional ambiental frente às crises da era do antropoceno, a presente pesquisa busca analisar as questões fundacionais das normas jurídicas internacionais. Para tanto, primeiramente, será observado o discurso presente nas três principais declarações gerais do direito internacional ambiental (Declaração de Estocolmo, Declaração do Rio e O Futuro que Queremos) de maneira crítica e reflexiva. Em seguida, será explorada a construção de significados que sustentam a visão de mundo legitimada por essas normas, como o ideal por desenvolvimento, a colonialidade e certa concepção sobre natureza, humanidade e a relação entre eles. Por fim, serão levantados questionamentos sobre as possibilidades de futuros alternativos que derivam dessas categorias, como o reconhecimento dos direitos da natureza, e os limites que as categorias existentes impõem a imaginários dissidentes. Com isso, observa-se que a forma com que o direito internacional ambiental é construído pressupõe a não problematização da exclusão constitutiva de outros do sistema internacional moderno. Portanto, é necessário questionar essas próprias categorias fundacionais, não só do direito internacional (geral e ambiental), como do sistema internacional e estatal como um todo, como um convite para uma especulação construtiva sobre quais futuros somos capazes de imaginar e construir. / [en] Considering the shortcoming of international environmental law in dealing with the crises of the era of the Anthropocene, this research seeks to analyze some foundational categories of international legal norms. With this in mind, firstly, the discourse of the three main general declarations of international environmental law (Stockholm Declaration, Rio92 and Rio +20) will be observed in a critical and reflective way, with the help of an enunciative discourse analysis. Then, some accounts will be traced about the construction of meanings that support the ontology legitimized by these norms, such as the ideal for development, coloniality and a certain conception about nature, humanity and the relationship between them. Finally, considering the roles of imaginaries and constructions of futures, questions will be raised about the possibilities of alternative futures that derive from these concepts, such as the recognition of the rights of nature and the limits that the existing categories impose on dissident imaginaries. Hence, it can be observed that the way in which international environmental law is constructed presupposes that the constitutive exclusion of others from the modern international system is not problematized. Therefore, it is crucial to question these very foundational categories, not only of international law (general and environmental), but of the international and state systems as a whole, as an invitation to face the end of the world through constructive speculation about which futures we are able to imagine and build.