As matter of first impression, District of Columbia Circuit determines in context of Montreal Protocol that "decisions" of parties made within framework of international agreements do not constitute "laws" which are enforceable in U.S. courts.
The U.S. belongs to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Sept. 16, 1987), S. Treaty Doc. No. 100-10, 1522 U.N.T.S. 29 (Protocol). It obliges signatory states to reduce the use of chemicals that affect the stratospheric ozone layer. One of the substances at issue here...

In reviewing dispute over loss of air cargo involving Warsaw Convention, Second Circuit holds that United States' 1998 ratification of Montreal Protocol of 1975 did not result in ratification of Hague Protocol of 1955.
The subrogated underwriter of Asco Industries, N.V. (Asco) attempted to recover damages from American Airlines, Inc. for its loss of four crates of goods on a flight from Belgium to Tulsa, Oklahoma. American Airlines argued that the Warsaw Convention limited its liability to $20 per kilogram. It cited Article...

Montreal Convention on international air travel goes into effect.
On November 4, 2003, the 1999 Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air, also known as the "Montreal Convention," entered into force. As of now, 32 nations (including the U.S.) are parties. Updating the prior Convention marks a major step forward in modernizing international...

Landmark protocol on damages for hazardous waste spills is open for signature.
The Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal [28 I.L.M. 657 (1989)] have approved a Protocol on Liability and Compensation. The EU and 139 nations [not including the U.S.] have ratified the main Convention which entered into force on...

Trade measures and the environment: can the WTO and UNCLOS be reconciled?
I INTRODUCTION Critics frequently lambaste the World Trade Organization's (WTO) (1) actions as detrimental to the goal of environmental conservation. While the WTO's success in fostering free trade and open markets is indisputable, these critics have lamented the Organization's seeming lack of tolerance for measures...

How Europe employs disguised regulatory protectionism to weaken American free enterprise *.
Abstract The European region regulates more than any single country in the world, and such over-regulation, along with higher taxes and labor and environmental standards, has increasingly caused European industry to lag behind its Asian and American competitors. As a result, a growing competitiveness and technology gap...

IUCN as catalyst for a law of the biosphere: acting globally and locally.
I. INTRODUCTION II. ENVIRONMENTAL LAW: MEDIATING BETWEEN NATURE AND HUMANS III. CHANGE AS THE "DEFAULT" LEGAL ASSUMPTION IV. IUCN's INTEGRATED VISION OF HUMANS IN NATURE A. The Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) B. Part XII of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) C...

Crimes of (a) global nature: forging environmental treaties is difficult. Enforcing them is even tougher.
Last February, armed troops and fisheries officials on two Australian navy ships and a helicopter boarded and seized the Volga and the Lena, Russian-flagged fishing vessels operating near Heard Island, some 2,200 nautical miles southwest of Perth. The two ships were found to be carrying about 200 tons of...

A foot in the door.
Environmental groups pursue a stronger role in ensuring compliance in international agreements In 1987, the Brundtland Commission issued its blueprint for a global partnership, recognizing that the community of non-governmental organizations offered an international network to be tapped, enabled and strengthened in order to achieve the goal of sustainable...

"Hot air" as precedent for developing countries? Equity considerations.
I. INTRODUCTION In June 1992, the world's nations met at the Rio Earth Summit Conference to discuss the various challenges facing the global environment.(1) One of the outcomes of the conference was the adoption of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a...