9.11.2016
1
INTERNATIONAL
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
Inland waters protection
Ilona Jancarova
Allocation Doctrines
 Absolute territorial sovereignty (Harmon doctrine
– articulated in case of diversion of the Rio
Grande by the U.S., which adversely affected
Mexican interests)
 Absolute territorial integrity
 Limited territorial sovereignty (obligation not to
cause significant harm)
 Equitable utilization of water resources (decisions
of ICJ and UN Watercourses Convention)
USE OF COMMON NATURAL
RESOURCES
Principle of equity among coriparian states:
 Upstream states have the right to use waters
 Upstream states have a duty to take into
account the interests of downstream states
9.11.2016
2
Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational
uses of International Watercourses
(New York 1997)
Goals:
1. optimal and sustainable utilization,
2. co-operation,
3. information exchange,
4. pollution prevention
5. the protection, preservation and management of
ecosystems
6. managing emergency situations.
Equitable utilization doctrine
LAKE LANOUX ARBITRATION
1957 (France v. Spain)
Treaty of Bayonne of May 26, 1866:
"Article 11: When in one of the two States it is proposed to construct works or to
grant new concessions which might change the course or the volume of a
watercourse of which the lower or opposite part is being used by the riparian
owners of the other country, prior notice will be given to the highest administrative
authority of the Department or of the Province to which such riparian owners are
subject by the corresponding authority in the jurisdiction where such schemes are
proposed, so that, if they might threaten the rights of the riparian owners of the
adjoining Sovereignty, a claim may be lodged in due time with the competent
authorities, and thus the interests that may be involved on both sides will be
safeguarded. If the work and concessions are to take place in a Commune
contiguous to the border, the engineers of the other Country will have the option,
upon proper notice given to them reasonably in advance, of agreeing to inspect the
site with those in charge of it.“
Case Law
 Lake Lanoux - States must strive to reach
agreements prior to the creation of
operation that can pose potential problems.
establisment of the principle of prior
consultation
9.11.2016
3
Convention on the Protection and Use of
Transboundary Watercourses and
International Lakes (Helsinki 1992)
Objective: - the protection and the rational usage of
transboundary watercourses and lakes
Obligations:
- to take all appropriate measures to prevent,
control and reduce any transboundary impact
- pollution prevention and reduction
- sustainable management of water resources
- to monitor and evaluate water conditions
- information exchange
- to prepare emergency notification and warning system
Convention on the Protection and Use of
Transboundary Watercourses and
International Lakes (Helsinki 1992)
Protocol on Water and Health (London 1999)
Protocol on Civil Liability and Compensation for Damage
Caused by the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents
Kiev 2003) – not signed by the CR
Convention on the Protection and Use of
Transboundary Watercourses and International
Lakes (Helsinki 1992)
Protocol on Water and Health (London 1999)
Objectives:
- to support human health protection and well-being by:
- improvement of the water management
- improvement of quality and quantity of drinking water
- protection of water ecosystems
9.11.2016
4
Convention on the Protection and Use of
Transboundary Watercourses and
International Lakes (Helsinki 1992)
Protocol on Civil Liability and Compensation for Damage
Caused by the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents
Kiev 2003) - not in force yet (signatories: 24; parties: 1)
• Aim - to give individuals affected by the transboundary impact
of industrial accidents on international watercourses (e.g.
fishermen or operators of downstream waterworks) a legal claim
for adequate and prompt compensation.
• Definitions of industrial accident ; damage
• Obligations of the operators to have financial insurance
• Polluter-pay principle
Convention on the International
Commission for the Protection of the Elbe
(Magdeburg 1990)
Objectives:
- to allow the use of water from bank infiltration for
drinking water supply purposes
- agricultural use of water and sediments
- to improve conditions of ecosystems to be as close as
possible to the natural conditions with sound diversity
of species
- to reduce pollution of the North Sea by the Elbe
Convention on Co-operation for the Protection
and Sustainable Use of the Danube River
(Sofia 1994)
Objectives:
- sustainable water management
- protection and rational use of surface waters and
groundwater
- reduction of hazards originating from accidents
involving hazardous substances and floods
- to reduce pollution of the Black Sea from Danube
river
9.11.2016
5
Declaration on the Environment in the
Danube River Basin (1994)
• Strategic Action Plan
• Program for the Implementation of SAP (investment
activities sponzored from PHARE project)
• Environmental Program for the Danube Basin
(improvement of environmental conditions)
• Accidental Emergency Prevention and Warning System
(focused on timely warning in cases of accidents)
Convention on the International Commission for
the Oder River Protection against Pollution
Wroclaw 1996
Objectives:
- permanent reduction of the pollution of Baltic Sea
caused by Oder River
- to restore aquatic and related ecosystems to get close
to natural conditions with adequate diversity of species
- to allow the use of the water from bank infiltration
for the drinking water supply
- agricultural use of water and sediments
Case Law
 Gabcikovo – Nagymaros
 1977 Agreement
 1988 withdrawl from the project
(Hungary); Variant C (Slovakia)
 1993 the dispute was submitted to the
ICJ
9.11.2016
6
Gabcikovo – Nagymaros
The court was asked to decide following
questions:
 Whether Hungary could withdraw from the
1977 treaty?
 Whether Slovakia was entitled to proceed
with the provosional unilateral solution in its
territory?
Gabcikovo – Nagymaros
Judgment:
Both parties are to pay damages to one another.
 Slovakia - because the countermeasures it had
undertaken were not proportionate and, thus,
it was breach of international law
 Hungary - because it had breached its
obligation under an international treaty