Sovereignty and the Community Interest: International Law's Role in the Domestic Environment

This article examines the role of international law in cases where states cause harm to their own natural environment. Hence, the focus of this article is neither on clearly transboundary environmental harm, nor on evidently global issues, such as climate change. Instead, it reflects on the scope of international legal action in relation to instances where a state is causing destruction primarily or exclusively to its domestic environment. By exploring the role of international law in these domestic matters, this study reflects not only on the boundaries of international environmental law, but also on various foundational concepts underlying the international legal system. Starting with the principle of sovereignty and the freedom it grants to states to freely use – or abuse – their domestic environment, but also the limitations to this discretion. Secondly, as this study is concerned with the multilateral aspects of international environmental law, it dives into the community interest in international law. More specifically, non-bilateral state responsibility and the erga omnes nature of environmental obligations. This article observes that international environmental law has shifted away from strict notions of sovereignty and now holds the potential to impose enforceable obligations on states towards the protection of their own domestic environment. It advances that the underlying driver of this progression is the shared interest that the international community holds in environmental protection.