The Duty to Cooperate in the Customary Law of Environmental Impact Assessment

Bibliographic Data

ID9933890
AuthorsNeil Craik (0000-0001-5597-0686, University of Waterloo, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume69
Issue1
Pages239-259
Publication date2020-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational and Comparative Law Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-5893 • E-ISSN: 1471-6895
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0020589319000459
OpenAlexW2993230620
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited7

This article argues that the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) account of the customary law of environmental impact assessment (EIA) is incomplete. While acknowledging the role of the harm prevention principle in formulating the customary obligation to conduct EIAs, the ICJ has ignored the duty to cooperate, notwithstanding the latter duty's equally strong standing in international environmental law. Ignoring the duty to cooperate pushes the court towards a formal and sequential understanding of EIA, which undervalues the centrality of notice and consultation in EIA. In effect, viewed through the harm prevention lens alone, EIA is largely understood in instrumental and technical terms; whereas, if the duty to cooperate is brought back in, EIA's deliberative and ‘other-regarding’ nature is more clearly seen. This, in turn, recognises the normative and political role of EIA in structuring State interactions respecting environmental disputes

Customary international law · Duty · Duty to protect · Economic Justice · Environmental law · Harm · International court · International law · Law and economics · Normative · Notice · Obligation · Political science · Public international law · Sociology · Environmental law and policy · International Arbitration and Investment Law · International Law and Human Rights · Law

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