comply with general and particular environmental obligations, so as to prevent
violations from occurring within their territories and, in case they occur, to prevent
them from trespassing borders. There is, here, a salutary dynamic of interaction and
complementarity between rules and obligations of both regimes.
The environmental obligations, both of a substantive and procedural nature, may
be grouped in two categories: general and specific. The general obligations consist of
obligations of due diligence and include: the obligation of prevention;
59 the precautionary principle;
60 the duty to cooperate;
61 procedural obligations connected to the
duty to protect the environment, among others.
62 They are general due not only to
their rather broad and vague content, but also because they are to be upheld by states
whatever the activity, geographical area or component of the environment affected.
Parallelly to general obligations, there are a multitude of specific environmental
obligations that, for example, refer to the type of damages, such as conventions,
agreements and protocols on oil spills, the handling of toxic substances, climate
change or the emission of toxic gases.
63 Particular obligations may relate either to a
single activity, such as maritime and fluvial transportation, hydrocarbons exploitation or deep seabed mining; or to an element of the environment to be protected, such
as biological diversity and protection of habitats and ecosystems, or the conservation
of precise species.
64 Both sets of obligations concerning the protection of the
continental shelf’s marine environment are the focus of next sections.
Rights (1969), the European Convention on Human Rights (1950), and the African Convention on
the Rights of Peoples (1981). See Ventura (2013), p. 89.
59 The obligation to prevent harm does not imply an abstract ban on all harm, but the duty falling
upon states to take measures to prevent activities under national jurisdiction from causing significant harm to the environment. This duty is expressed in the Rio Documents: Principle 17 of the Rio
Declaration; Chapter 22 of Agenda 21; and Art. 14 (1) (a) and (b) of the CBD.
60 The much spoken-about precautionary principle consists of a legal norm, gradually developed in
the past 40 years, that essentially imposes an obligation to take preventative measures in case of risk
to the environment and human health. Such principle may be invoked whenever a phenomenon,
product, process or activity may have a dangerous impact, identified by a scientific and objective
evaluation. It has been codified within the CBD, both in principle during its original drafting, and
also directly referred to in the 2003 resolutions of the Cartagena Protocol, which has now been
ratified by 170 states. Additionally, the precautionary principle was included as a part of the 1995
UN Fish Stocks Agreement (83 signatories), and in regional agreements such as the Maastricht
Treaty formulating the European Union, and the OSPAR Convention, among many others. For
further references on the international legal instruments embodying the precautionary principle, see
Trouwborst (2007), p. 186.
61 Art. 197 UNCLOS, on the duty cooperate on a global and regional basis; and Art. 283 UNCLOS,
on the obligation to exchange views, to name but a few provisions which codify the duty to
cooperate in the international normative framework of the oceans.
62 The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has advised in that direction before. See Advisory
Opinion 23/17, Requested by Colombia, published in 2018, para 125.
63 Art. 1, MARPOL Convention.
64 The obligation to protect habitats and ecosystems can be found in provisions of the CBD (Art.
8, paragraph d), UNCLOS (Art. 194, paragraph 5); RAMSAR Convention (Art. 4, paragraph 2),
among other international instruments.
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7 Legal Basis of Coastal States’ Environmental Jurisdiction on the...
violations from occurring within their territories and, in case they occur, to prevent
them from trespassing borders. There is, here, a salutary dynamic of interaction and
complementarity between rules and obligations of both regimes.
The environmental obligations, both of a substantive and procedural nature, may
be grouped in two categories: general and specific. The general obligations consist of
obligations of due diligence and include: the obligation of prevention;
59 the precautionary principle;
60 the duty to cooperate;
61 procedural obligations connected to the
duty to protect the environment, among others.
62 They are general due not only to
their rather broad and vague content, but also because they are to be upheld by states
whatever the activity, geographical area or component of the environment affected.
Parallelly to general obligations, there are a multitude of specific environmental
obligations that, for example, refer to the type of damages, such as conventions,
agreements and protocols on oil spills, the handling of toxic substances, climate
change or the emission of toxic gases.
63 Particular obligations may relate either to a
single activity, such as maritime and fluvial transportation, hydrocarbons exploitation or deep seabed mining; or to an element of the environment to be protected, such
as biological diversity and protection of habitats and ecosystems, or the conservation
of precise species.
64 Both sets of obligations concerning the protection of the
continental shelf’s marine environment are the focus of next sections.
Rights (1969), the European Convention on Human Rights (1950), and the African Convention on
the Rights of Peoples (1981). See Ventura (2013), p. 89.
59 The obligation to prevent harm does not imply an abstract ban on all harm, but the duty falling
upon states to take measures to prevent activities under national jurisdiction from causing significant harm to the environment. This duty is expressed in the Rio Documents: Principle 17 of the Rio
Declaration; Chapter 22 of Agenda 21; and Art. 14 (1) (a) and (b) of the CBD.
60 The much spoken-about precautionary principle consists of a legal norm, gradually developed in
the past 40 years, that essentially imposes an obligation to take preventative measures in case of risk
to the environment and human health. Such principle may be invoked whenever a phenomenon,
product, process or activity may have a dangerous impact, identified by a scientific and objective
evaluation. It has been codified within the CBD, both in principle during its original drafting, and
also directly referred to in the 2003 resolutions of the Cartagena Protocol, which has now been
ratified by 170 states. Additionally, the precautionary principle was included as a part of the 1995
UN Fish Stocks Agreement (83 signatories), and in regional agreements such as the Maastricht
Treaty formulating the European Union, and the OSPAR Convention, among many others. For
further references on the international legal instruments embodying the precautionary principle, see
Trouwborst (2007), p. 186.
61 Art. 197 UNCLOS, on the duty cooperate on a global and regional basis; and Art. 283 UNCLOS,
on the obligation to exchange views, to name but a few provisions which codify the duty to
cooperate in the international normative framework of the oceans.
62 The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has advised in that direction before. See Advisory
Opinion 23/17, Requested by Colombia, published in 2018, para 125.
63 Art. 1, MARPOL Convention.
64 The obligation to protect habitats and ecosystems can be found in provisions of the CBD (Art.
8, paragraph d), UNCLOS (Art. 194, paragraph 5); RAMSAR Convention (Art. 4, paragraph 2),
among other international instruments.
204
7 Legal Basis of Coastal States’ Environmental Jurisdiction on the...