Japan's 'Research Whaling' in the Antarctic Southern Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean in the Face of the Endangered Species Convention (CITES)

Over the past 20 years, Japanese whalers have taken more than 10,000 whales from the Antarctic Southern Ocean and the north Pacific Ocean for 'scientific purposes', under a controversial exemption clause in the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW). After analyzing the relationship of the ICRW regime with other applicable multilateral agreements, this article concludes that Japan's current pelagic 'research whaling' programmes are not only a growing embarrassment for the country's meritorious ongoing research in both polar regions; they are also in open breach of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). In light of different options for international legal action, the author recommends the initiation of 'compliance procedures'– potentially leading to a collective trade embargo – in accordance with CITES Conference Resolution 14.3 (2007).     

Japan's Research Whaling Is Not Unlawful and Does Not Violate CITES Trade Rules

This article is a critique of two reports of “independent legal experts” sponsored by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW); the “Paris Panel” and the “London Panel.” The article shows that the Paris Panel's conclusion that Japan's research whaling in the Antarctic is unlawful and an abuse of rights under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) is based on misuse of evidence and failure to properly interpret Article VIII of the Convention and the legal status of recommendatory non-binding resolutions. It also shows that the London Panel's conclusion that the import of humpback whales from Japan's research program in the Antarctic and sei whales from its research program in the North Pacific are a violation of trade rules under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora is based on incorrect interpretation of that Convention's trade rules. It is concluded that the two independent legal experts panel reports are, from a legal perspective, seriously flawed, rendering their conclusions invalid and relegating the reports to the status of IFAW propaganda.     

全球经济治理新模式的法治化路径

传统全球经济治理模式不能反映当前国际经济关系的变化,既缺乏民主性,也不适应经济全球化带来的新挑战,必须加以改革。各国可以考虑制定《国际经济合作宪章》,确立平等及相互尊重、实现共同利益和促进合作与广泛共识的法律原则;扩大新兴经济体和广大发展中国家参与治理,在G20机制的基础上设立具有最高权威的"国际经济合作组织";以WTO争端解决机制为蓝本建立一整套国际经济争端解决机制,从而实现全球经济治理的法治化。     

Whose Whales? Developing countries and the right to use whales by non‐lethal means

Abstract

While the clash between whaling and anti‐whaling interests in international fora, especially the International Whaling Commission (IWC), has escalated over the last two decades, very little attention, if any, has been paid to the active participation of developing country representatives and agencies (both governmental and non‐governmental) in the issues surrounding whale conservation, research and sustainable use. The failure to recognize the interests of developing nations in non‐lethal use of whales, as well as their marginalization in the IWC decision‐making process, has contravened their sovereign rights and thwarted efforts to develop a solid consensus on many critical issues.     

The Precautionary Principle and the Ecosystem Approach in International Law: Differences, Similarities and Linkages

The precautionary principle and the ecosystem approach are often mentioned in one breath. This article explores the differences, similarities and relationship between the two concepts. In a comparative and integrated assessment, it addresses, among other things, the purpose, core elements and status of the precautionary principle and the ecosystem approach under international law, the role of scientific information in their application, and the management actions associated with their implementation.     

International Whale Conservation in a Changing Climate: The Ecosystem Approach,Marine Protected Areas,and the International Whaling Commission

Abstract

Whale populations are exposed to a suite of contemporary threats, including by-catch, ship strikes, habitat degradation, and climate change. Of these threats, climate change presents the most challenging management dilemma because it pressures whale populations directly (e.g., by altering habitat suitability) and indirectly (e.g., by increasing disease transmission and exposure to toxicants, by affecting prey abundance, and by exacerbating other threats). There is also an emerging scientific understanding of how healthy whale populations constitute an important biological component of the climate system and contribute to climate change mitigation. The International Whaling Commission (“IWC”), which is the primary international organization dedicated to whale conservation and management, has investigated and studied climate change but has failed to develop a commensurate management response. Conversely, parallel developments in international wildlife conservation and management evince support for an integrated and holistic ecosystem approach (“EA”) and urge the immediate development of climate-adaptive measures. The EA has been operationalized in prominent legal instruments and through various management techniques, including marine protected areas (“MPAs”). In view of observed and predicted effects of climate change on whales, this article proposes a new approach to designating and protecting whale sanctuaries at the IWC that better aligns with a contemporary understanding of the EA and MPAs, and that can advance the IWC’s institutional transition towards climate-informed modernized management. This proposed innovation is tested for its legal permissibility and political feasibility, and the analysis concludes that improving the IWC’s regulatory functionality remains a crucial conservation objective.     

Evaluating EU responsiveness to the evolution of the international regime complex on climate change

International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics - Over the past decades, the international governance of climate change has evolved from a singular forum—the...     

国际法视野下的标准治理

全球化带来的世界转型,使国际体系呈现一体化和碎片化交织的复杂模式。而依循国际法进行的全球治理,则因其治理乏力而饱受争议。究其原因,公私治理主体间的矛盾、治理方式的僵硬,导致治理价值的受损。以标准作为全球治理的技术(以下简称"标准治理"),更好地折射出全球治理的优势和限度。一方面,多元多层级标准治理主体之间的合作和互动,增进了决策权的复制与移转,使治理方式更为灵活有序。另一方面,国家导向与市场导向权威之间的可能摩擦,恐使全球治理屈从于"排除知识落伍者"的单一治理模式。更为重要的是,标准治理激发了对国际法秩序,特别是国际法传统渊源的反思和重塑,对于如何更好地推动公私标准的融合、改善国际立法及其遵守,继而推动全球治理的可持续发展提供了新契机。     

Global Politics of Mercury Pollution: The Need for Multi-Scale Governance

This article analyses international legal and policy developments on mercury from the 1970s to the present time, and examines options for continued abatement. Multiple scientific assessments have demonstrated that mercury is an environmental pollutant that can pose a serious threat to human health and development. Currently, the international community is engaged in extensive debate about options for improved mercury governance. This article will critically examine three major policy options under discussion: the creation of a global mercury convention; the regulation of mercury under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants; and the development of voluntary partnerships. It is concluded that expanded and better integrated policy efforts are needed across global, regional and local governance scales to address mercury pollution and contamination effectively.     

国际法视野下核能风险的全球治理

核能的开发利用在给人类带来巨大助益的同时也伴随着各种潜在的风险。各种核事故的发生充分表明,在核能风险治理方面依然存在着诸多缺陷与不足。为此,国际社会需要在相关的现有国际法规范和国际实践的基础上逐步形成核能风险的全球治理机制。本文通过分析核能开发利用的主权权利和风险治理责任及其相互关系,明确了国际法原则和规范中体现核能风险全球治理的约束条件和发展路径。根据国际法委员会对风险活动领域国际责任的编纂和发展,结合核能风险治理方面所存在着的缺陷与不足,分析构建了核能风险全球治理的具体要素和内涵,为形成切实可行的、有效的核能风险全球治理机制提出了系统建议。     

Filling the gap? An analysis of non-governmental organizations responses to participation and representation deficits in global climate governance

The involvement of civil society actors such as NGOs is often presented as one possible remedy to shortcomings in the democratic legitimacy and accountability of institutions of earth system governance. This article uses the case of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to show how its constituency of environmental and development NGOs has responded to perceived representation and participation deficits in global climate policy-making. It discusses three types of NGO responses, which could potentially help to bring the voices of affected but marginalized communities to the relevant levels of climate policy-making: firstly, NGO proposals designed to remedy representation inequities among governments; secondly, NGO demands for strengthening opportunities for participation by societal stakeholders at all levels of climate policy-making; and finally, representative practices (based on authorization and accountability) reflected in the NGOs’ own decision-making processes and governance structures. With regard to the first two types of responses, the article finds that the NGOs tend to support broadly similar standards of participation and representation in the climate convention. The analysis of the decision-making processes and governance structure of the Climate Action Network, the constituency focal point for the environment and development NGOs in the climate convention, highlights a number of ways through which the network can legitimately claim to represent a wider constituency. At the same time, however, it is important for NGOs not to underestimate the potential costs of high standards of inclusiveness and representativeness.     

20 Years of global climate change governance research: taking stock and moving forward

International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics - Research on global climate change governance is no longer primarily concerned with the international legal regime, state...     

试论国际法的“公共物品”属性

国际法是国际关系的产物,它反映了各国的共同利,体现了各国的共同意志,是指导国家对外交往、和平解决国际争端的共同规范.国际法规范的非竞争性、非排他性特点,使之具有"公共物品"的属性,是实现全球治理、维护世界和平与发展的重要保障.     

Mapping the fragmentation of the international forest regime complex: institutional elements,conflicts and synergies

In the field of global environmental governance, a plethora of international regimes have emerged over the past decades. In some issue areas, multiple regimes aim to govern the issue, sometimes reinforcing, oftentimes conflicting with each other. Consequently, international regime complexes are an empirical phenomenon, which are inherently characterized by specific degrees of fragmentation. For any given issue area, one of the key questions is whether the institutional fragmentation encountered in such regime complexes is synergistic or conflictive in nature. Scrutinizing this question poses methodological challenges of how to delineate a regime complex and how to assess its fragmentation. Drawing on the highly fragmented case of the international forest regime complex, this paper aims to map its institutional fragmentation and to analyse the degrees to which it is conflictive or synergistic. For this we conceptualize the notion of institutional elements and develop a novel method for mapping regime complexes based on their core institutional elements. We then employ tools from the sub-discipline of policy analysis on the complex’s institutional elements for analysing in detail, which of the elements are mutually synergistic and conflictive with other elements of the regime complex. Our results indicate that synergistic relations mostly exist among rather vague elements, often built around sustainability as a core principle. On the contrary, conflictive relations prevail as soon as the elements are designed in more concrete and substantial ways. We conclude that the forest regime complex displays only degree of seemingly synergistic fragmentation through a number of non-decisions and the use of “sustainability” as an empty formula. De facto, conflictive fragmentation prevails among elements of concrete subject matter. This raises questions on whether vast parts of regime complexes merely serve symbolic functions, while conflicts on substance are being camouflaged.

     

习近平法治思想中的全球治理观

中国始终是世界和平的建设者、全球发展的贡献者、国际秩序的维护者,在"百年未有之大变局"中,中国前所未有地靠近世界舞台中心.习近平总书记在新的历史起点上,准确把握国际国内两个大局,针对全球治理这一重大课题,提出了以"构建人类命运共同体"理念为指引,以"走和平发展道路"和"中国走向世界,以负责任大国参与国际事务""构建以合...     

Beyond the public and private divide: remapping transnational climate governance in the 21st century

This article provides a first step towards a better theoretical and empirical knowledge of the emerging arena of transnational climate governance. The need for such a re-conceptualization emerges from the increasing relevance of non-state and transnational approaches towards climate change mitigation at a time when the intergovernmental negotiation process has to overcome substantial stalemate and the international arena becomes increasingly fragmented. Based on a brief discussion of the increasing trend towards transnationalization and functional segmentation of the global climate governance arena, we argue that a remapping of climate governance is necessary and needs to take into account different spheres of authority beyond the public and international. Hence, we provide a brief analysis of how the public/private divide has been conceptualized in Political Science and International Relations. Subsequently, we analyse the emerging transnational climate governance arena. Analytically, we distinguish between different manifestations of transnational climate governance on a continuum ranging from delegated and shared public–private authority to fully non-state and private responses to the climate problem. We suggest that our remapping exercise presented in this article can be a useful starting point for future research on the role and relevance of transnational approaches to the global climate crisis.

Agency dynamics of International Environmental Agreements: actors,contexts, and drivers

International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics - The structural elements of global environmental governance are notoriously difficult to change and align with the needs of a...     

The New International Health Regulations: An Historic Development for International Law and Public Health

The adoption of the new International Health Regulations (IHR) in May 2005 represents an historic development for international law and public health. This article describes the IHR revision process and analyzes why the new IHR constitute an advance in global health governance.     

Analysis of the governance architecture to regulate GHG emissions from international shipping

Despite the substantial and likely increasing contribution of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from international shipping and the related adverse impacts on global climate change, GHG emissions from international shipping are yet neither regulated by the Kyoto Protocol, nor through any other legally binding, internationally accepted regulation. This paper is looking into the governance architecture that is currently in place to regulate GHG emissions from international shipping with a view to analyze whether the institutional degree of fragmentation within this architecture is contributing to the current situation where no legally binding, internationally accepted regulation has been set up yet. Following the hypothesis that the degree and the characteristics of governance fragmentation have a crucial impact on the effectiveness and performance of a governance system, this paper focuses on the current architecture of climate change governance in international shipping and the institutional interplay between its actors. Therefore, the analytical framework builds on approaches from international environmental governance, regime theory, institutional interplay, and fragmentation in international governance architectures.