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International law and the resolution of Central and Eastern European transboundary environmental disputes
Book reviews / International Journal of the Sociology of Law 30 (2002) 259–264
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International law and the resolution of Central and Eastern European transboundary environmental disputes P.R. Williams; Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2000, 345 pp., price d47.50 hardback Environmental pollution is a particular problem when it crosses state boundaries, How do those states which may be damaged by cross-boundary pollution seek either to mitigate the polluting activity or to stop it altogether, and yet still respect the sovereignty of the state in which the pollution arose? This book seeks to address this question in relation to the role of international law in the promotion of the resolution of Central and Eastern European transboundary environmental disputes. The forced industrialization of the Central Eastern European (CEE) states and the wholesales neglect of environmental protection under the former communist regimes have left the CEE states suffering from substantial environmental degradation. The book outlines the regime of international law in the context of six case studies including the Baltic Sea, the Black Triangle, the Trelin nuclear power plant, the Danube River Gauntlet and the Black Sea disputes. An analytic framework is used to evaluate the sub-state actors, interested third parties and the ecological, economic and political circumstances that influence the resolution of transboundary environmental disputes. The author also examines the role of international law. General conclusions are drawn from the case studies in respect of the social and political context in which international law operates and the functions it performs. The book also assesses the role of the law in promoting transboundary environmental dispute resolution and investigates the factors which influence whether states are likely to rely upon international law. The author hypothesizes that international law should be conceived of as operating as a constituent element within international regime of transboundary environmental protection. The book gives an enlightened and interesting review of the evolution of environmental policy in the states of Eastern Europe both pre- and post-1989. This review brings no surprises to any scholar who has studied either the CEE states specifically or international environmental issues generally. However, with the CEE states expressing a strong interest in pursuing what they perceive as the final step in re-orienting their political and economic ties from the east to the west, international lawyers consider it will be possible to establish a unified regional approach to environmental protection, which may be based on the rule of law. Other commentators note that the European Union (EU) possesses a short window of opportunity within which to affect environmental policy. However, if the EU membership questions are delayed for another five or more years, then CEE states are likely to adopt a variety of inconsistent approaches, which will be doubly difficult to integrate once membership decisions are made. The author uses this impending membership to predict an increasing role for international law. Prior to 1989 socialist law did not provide CEE states with practical rights in relation to other CEE states as there could inherently be no contradiction between the socialist norms of CEE state foreign policy and socialist international law. Thus, there was no need to create substantive reciprocal rights. Prior to the 1989 transformation, CEE states were, therefore, seldom exposed to the
262
Book reviews / International Journal of the Sociology of Law 30 (2002) 259–264
operational principles of general international law. The author posits that the capacity of international law to assist in the resolution of transboundary environmental disputes revolves around the attempt of international law to balance the rights and obligations of a sovereign state with the rights and obligations of the international community of states. The value of state sovereignty is then balanced endogenously between a state’s interest and right in seeking to exercise sole control over the activities occurring within its territory from degradation caused by activities occurring within its border, yet also seeking to protect resources within its territory from degradation caused by activities occurring within the sovereign spheres of other states. If states perceive there to be value associated with the use of international law, and if this value is not outweighed by the costs of using international law, then states will naturally be more likely to use international law to promote the resolution of their transboundary disputes. However, with the dissolution of the former Soviet Union, the author concludes that to ensure adequate environmental protection in CEE transboundary regions, CEE states must cooperate to move these disputes from the pre-resolution phase through the resolution phase and into the implementation phase with increasing use of international law. Throughout this book the author gives both an authoritative and sensitive review of the problems facing the CEE states and identifies how a more creative use of international law could help to resolve cross-boundary environmental disputes. Scholars and students of international law, international relations theory, and transboundary environmental problems will benefit from the insight that this book demonstrates and the innovative possible answers to very vexing question of how to address cross-boundary pollution and yet still respect state sovereignty. Patricia Park Southampton Institute, UK PII: S 0 1 9 4 - 6 5 9 5 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 0 1 1 - 4
From boot money to Bosman: football, society and the law David McArdle; Cavendish Publishing Ltd., London and Sydney, 2000, 259 pp., ISBN 1 85941 437 0 David McArdle’s ambitious and timely book aims to analyse how the law impacts on football in Britain. In attempting to accomplish this task the text covers a large number of areas, from contractual freedom for players to attempts to prevent hooliganism and racism in the game. As McArdle points out ‘‘ybarely a week passes without the breaking of a high profile football story in which a significant legal issue arises’’ (p. xxviii). Football is evidently an arena where the law has had an increasing degree of influence. The text, discursive in some ways, manages to cover a number of critical themes in detail, making pertinent comparative comments with regard to other sports and other countries. The book also has the inestimable value of providing some detailed
261
International law and the resolution of Central and Eastern European transboundary environmental disputes P.R. Williams; Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2000, 345 pp., price d47.50 hardback Environmental pollution is a particular problem when it crosses state boundaries, How do those states which may be damaged by cross-boundary pollution seek either to mitigate the polluting activity or to stop it altogether, and yet still respect the sovereignty of the state in which the pollution arose? This book seeks to address this question in relation to the role of international law in the promotion of the resolution of Central and Eastern European transboundary environmental disputes. The forced industrialization of the Central Eastern European (CEE) states and the wholesales neglect of environmental protection under the former communist regimes have left the CEE states suffering from substantial environmental degradation. The book outlines the regime of international law in the context of six case studies including the Baltic Sea, the Black Triangle, the Trelin nuclear power plant, the Danube River Gauntlet and the Black Sea disputes. An analytic framework is used to evaluate the sub-state actors, interested third parties and the ecological, economic and political circumstances that influence the resolution of transboundary environmental disputes. The author also examines the role of international law. General conclusions are drawn from the case studies in respect of the social and political context in which international law operates and the functions it performs. The book also assesses the role of the law in promoting transboundary environmental dispute resolution and investigates the factors which influence whether states are likely to rely upon international law. The author hypothesizes that international law should be conceived of as operating as a constituent element within international regime of transboundary environmental protection. The book gives an enlightened and interesting review of the evolution of environmental policy in the states of Eastern Europe both pre- and post-1989. This review brings no surprises to any scholar who has studied either the CEE states specifically or international environmental issues generally. However, with the CEE states expressing a strong interest in pursuing what they perceive as the final step in re-orienting their political and economic ties from the east to the west, international lawyers consider it will be possible to establish a unified regional approach to environmental protection, which may be based on the rule of law. Other commentators note that the European Union (EU) possesses a short window of opportunity within which to affect environmental policy. However, if the EU membership questions are delayed for another five or more years, then CEE states are likely to adopt a variety of inconsistent approaches, which will be doubly difficult to integrate once membership decisions are made. The author uses this impending membership to predict an increasing role for international law. Prior to 1989 socialist law did not provide CEE states with practical rights in relation to other CEE states as there could inherently be no contradiction between the socialist norms of CEE state foreign policy and socialist international law. Thus, there was no need to create substantive reciprocal rights. Prior to the 1989 transformation, CEE states were, therefore, seldom exposed to the
262
Book reviews / International Journal of the Sociology of Law 30 (2002) 259–264
operational principles of general international law. The author posits that the capacity of international law to assist in the resolution of transboundary environmental disputes revolves around the attempt of international law to balance the rights and obligations of a sovereign state with the rights and obligations of the international community of states. The value of state sovereignty is then balanced endogenously between a state’s interest and right in seeking to exercise sole control over the activities occurring within its territory from degradation caused by activities occurring within its border, yet also seeking to protect resources within its territory from degradation caused by activities occurring within the sovereign spheres of other states. If states perceive there to be value associated with the use of international law, and if this value is not outweighed by the costs of using international law, then states will naturally be more likely to use international law to promote the resolution of their transboundary disputes. However, with the dissolution of the former Soviet Union, the author concludes that to ensure adequate environmental protection in CEE transboundary regions, CEE states must cooperate to move these disputes from the pre-resolution phase through the resolution phase and into the implementation phase with increasing use of international law. Throughout this book the author gives both an authoritative and sensitive review of the problems facing the CEE states and identifies how a more creative use of international law could help to resolve cross-boundary environmental disputes. Scholars and students of international law, international relations theory, and transboundary environmental problems will benefit from the insight that this book demonstrates and the innovative possible answers to very vexing question of how to address cross-boundary pollution and yet still respect state sovereignty. Patricia Park Southampton Institute, UK PII: S 0 1 9 4 - 6 5 9 5 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 0 1 1 - 4
From boot money to Bosman: football, society and the law David McArdle; Cavendish Publishing Ltd., London and Sydney, 2000, 259 pp., ISBN 1 85941 437 0 David McArdle’s ambitious and timely book aims to analyse how the law impacts on football in Britain. In attempting to accomplish this task the text covers a large number of areas, from contractual freedom for players to attempts to prevent hooliganism and racism in the game. As McArdle points out ‘‘ybarely a week passes without the breaking of a high profile football story in which a significant legal issue arises’’ (p. xxviii). Football is evidently an arena where the law has had an increasing degree of influence. The text, discursive in some ways, manages to cover a number of critical themes in detail, making pertinent comparative comments with regard to other sports and other countries. The book also has the inestimable value of providing some detailed