Environment Protection – International Regulation

Abstract

In this article, the authors analyze phases of the development of international environmental law, stating the main features of each, and the relevant international instruments adopted in this area. Special emphasis is put on the importance of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm 1972), and its formulated principles which serve as the foundation of regulative of this area in the national legislatures of the states that supported the Declaration. The Stockholm Declaration prompted the establishment of special institutions for environmental protection and the constitution of the Regional Environmental Systems. The authors also analyze The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, which took place in Rio De Janeiro in June 1992. The principles of the Declaration emphasize the idea of establishing a balance between environmental protection and the right to the development. The development and use of resources for the purpose of development have gained the same significance as the protection of the environment. The paper presents an overview of fragmentary and sectoral legal rules concerning the following areas: conservation of living nature and cultural heritage; ozone layer atmospheres and climate; marine and ocean environments; hazardous waste. A series of acts passed under the auspices of the UN achieved political agreement on the need to protect the environment, but the construction of a corpus of binding legal rules is still in its initial phase.