Some Reflections on Legal and Philosophical Foundations of International Environmental Law

• Authors: Malgorzata Fitzmaurice
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

This article examines the legal and philosophical foundations of international environmental law. It analyses the legal regime of the Common Heritage of Mankind (Humankind) (CHM), Common Concern of Mankind (Humankind) (CCM), and the principles of intra- and intergenerational equity. The regime of CHM covers the Moon and other celestial bodies and the “Area” under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The regime of CCM relates to areas such as climate change and biodiversity. Both CHM and CCM are based on a premise that certain areas of human activities are held in common interest for the whole community of States. In this context, the article claims that the underlying, foundational principles of international environmental law have the common theme of intra- and intergenerational equity.

Keywords

EN

common heritage of mankind; common concern of mankind; international law; international environmental law; UNCLOS

• Publisher: Instytut Nauk Prawnych PAN / Institute of Legal Studies PAN
• Journal: Polish Yearbook of International Law
• Year: 2012
• Volume: 32
• Pages: 89-110

Contributors

author

Malgorzata Fitzmaurice

• School of Law Mile End Campus, Department of Law, Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, United Kingdom