How International Organisations Shape International Environmental Law through Non-Binding Instruments: A Tale of Law and Authority

Research output: ThesisDoctoral thesis 3 (Research UU / Graduation NOT UU)

Abstract

International organisations have been at the forefront of contemporary developments in international environmental law, adopting influential codes of conduct, guidelines, and declarations of principles. These are not the classical international instruments that are traditionally considered to be sources of international law. They do not fulfil the necessary formalities to be international treaties nor are they binding decisions of international organisations that could claim an analogous legal status. Formally speaking, they are not more than recommendations for states, but this legal classification is somewhat at odds with their influence in the development of international environmental law. In this context, my research sets out to capture the legal relevance of these non‑binding instruments in shaping environmental regimes and contributing to the achievement of environmental goals. In particular, it seeks to understand how the instruments adopted by international organisations influence the conduct of different actors, generate expectations of compliance, and shape developments of legal regimes, despite lacking the coercive and enforceable features typically associated with binding international law. In doing so, the thesis contributes to rethinking international institutional law so that it can better reflect developments in the practice of international organisations, their increasingly autonomous role in international law‑making, and their innovative decision‑making processes that challenge the traditionally strict boundaries between binding and non‑binding law. This thesis proposes that focusing on the authority of instruments (understood as their ability influence the freedom of other actors, both norm addressees and/or law‑appliers, in the pursuance of a public interest) provides a better set of tools and concepts to grasp the legal relevance of the outputs of international organisations. It suggests that the decision‑making processes taking place inside international organisations influence the authority of their adopted instruments on the basis of (i) the scientific and technical expertise input into their legislative processes (epistemic authority), (ii) the participation of a broad range of stakeholders in rule-making and follow-up processes and consequent establishment of shared agreements and expectations (interactional authority), and (iii) the development of the procedural and practical norms and institutional structures necessary for implementation and compliance with existing obligations (regulatory authority). This framework of authority is applied to two case studies—the regulation of sustainable fisheries by the FAO and the decisions of the COP‑UNFCCC and the MOP to the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation—and suggests a relation between the decision‑making processes of the organisations, the authority of the outcomes, and their reception by legal actors. The case studies also highlight how influence the development of environmental regimes, by shaping future decision‑making processes and interactions within the international organisations that adopt them.
Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
  • KU Leuven
Supervisors/Advisors
  • Wouters, Jan, Supervisor, External person
  • Hernández, Gleider, Co-supervisor, External person
Award date3 Jul 2023
Publisher
Publication statusPublished - 2023
Externally publishedYes

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