Ensuring Compliance with Multilateral Environmental Agreements

In this publication, a number of recognized practitioners and scholars undertake to explore the realities and the conceptual underpinnings of environmental compliance mechanisms. In a relative short period of time, such mechanisms were introduced in a wide range of new and existing environmental regimes. Yet, little is known about their function in practice and their implications. This is puzzling when considering, that the new mechanisms considerably depart from traditional patterns of counteraction and dispute settlement. Instead they build on partnership and cooperation and include a wide range of possible reactions, which range from those having coercive power to supportive measures. Quite a number of those mechanisms and their functioning are explained in the publication in order to lay ground for some cross-cutting analysis, which covers inter alia reporting, inspection and monitoring, supportive financial incentives and the interrelationship between compliance mechanisms and the principle of state responsibility and dispute settlement. Finally, the role of non-governmental organizations is addressed. Practitioners and scholars in international environmental affairs and international law more generally will importantly benefit from the inside views and thorough reflection as provided for in this book.

Review:

'International practitioners, scholars, and their libraries will all benefit from this well-conceived collection of analyses of how to move environmental compliance from paper to reality. This work product effectively presents a practitioner-scholar literary composition, set in a most intriguing dialogue - with lessons reaching beyond the supposed disconnect between theory and practice. American Society of International Law Newsletter, 2006.