The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s). Publication does not imply en... more The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s). Publication does not imply endorsement by the UNU-EHS or the United Nations University of any of the views expressed. This is a purely scholar work of the author and does not necessarily reflect views of the Government of India. This study was co-sponsored by the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP). ISBN: 3-9810582-8-3 (printed version) ISBN: 3-9810582-9-1 (electronic version)
The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has now attained the milestone of 60 years (1960– 2020). It was reg... more The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has now attained the milestone of 60 years (1960– 2020). It was registered by India with the United Nations on 16 January 1962. It has become a global role model of an international legal mechanism for shared transboundary water resources. It has withstood all the strains, conflicts and lows in the bilateral relations between the riparian states of India and Pakistan. The current trends of global climate change in the Anthropocene epoch have exacerbated the risk of conflict over the shared international freshwater resources under the IWT. The receding glaciers, scanty snowfall, changing land system patterns, increasing demands for water to meet irrigation, industrial and domestic water demands, all have cumulatively made an impact on water availability in the Indus Basin. As the climatic changes induce decline in water flows in the Indus Basin rivers, this study seeks to analyze the actual working of the IWT, efficacy of the in-built conflict resolution...
gives an excellent and thought provoking account of creeping institutionalization of the global e... more gives an excellent and thought provoking account of creeping institutionalization of the global environmental governance. His “story” is not only proving that environment is as much a legal as a security issue. It goes well beyond the fields of his legal expertise as he analyses the creeping institutionalization from the point of view of psychology of the state actors. The reader can follow page by page how the growing environmental awareness is being translated into multilateral actions, treaties including the “thickening web” of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and the “softness of hard law”.
Reviving the United Nations Trusteeship Council (UNTC) and the evolution of the idea of trust in ... more Reviving the United Nations Trusteeship Council (UNTC) and the evolution of the idea of trust in the global domain underscores that there are places, territories, and areas known as ‘global commons’ that require special and careful nurturing. The TC under the UN Charter sought to continue the spirit and essence of the ‘sacred trust’ with a ‘new mandate,’ even as it now lies dormant since 1994. From a scholarly perspective, such a move eminently makes sense since it could bring to life an entity within the UN. It will essentially serve as a guardian of the global ‘common concerns’ and ‘common heritage of mankind’ as well as the global environment. It would serve as a trustee for the present and future generations of humankind. A revived TC with a new mandate (for the environment and the global commons) could strengthen the UN and vindicate one of the core purposes for which the ‘United Nations’ came together (in 1945) with a solemn resolve “to establish conditions under which justice...
This article seeks to place under scanner the role of international courts and tribunals (ICTs) a... more This article seeks to place under scanner the role of international courts and tribunals (ICTs) as important agents for the peaceful settlement of international disputes through the instrumentality of law. The rapid upswing in the number of specialized international courts and tribunals (in areas such as trade, human rights, law of the sea, criminal justice and environment) can be perceived as an attempt by the sovereign states to maintain viability of the ICTs in light of perplexity in international relations, growing recognition of peaceful co-existence, quest for institutionalized cooperation and emergence of some of the ‘Common Concerns of Humankind’ and the ‘Duty to Cooperate’. It has sought to make sense of emergence of ICTs as the ‘New Environmental Sentinels’. Do we need a specialized International Environmental Court (IEC) as an ‘ideal’? What does it portend for our common future?
The article seeks to make a modest effort in making sense of the international environmental law-... more The article seeks to make a modest effort in making sense of the international environmental law-making process. It comprises the subtle normative process currently at work, including ‘global conferencing’ technique resorted to by the UN General Assembly, how it draws upon the basic legal underpinnings of international law, the unique treaty-making enterprise at work, and what this enormous legal churning process portends for the protection of the global environment at this critical time of perplexity in the Anthropocene epoch. It calls for taking serious cognizance of mass destruction of plant and animal species, heavy pollution of fresh water resources, choking of the oceans with plastic and other litter, and alteration of the atmosphere, among other lasting impacts that imperil our only abode Earth. International environmental law-making process is ad hoc and piecemeal and is generally understood to be the product of a lack of a single, central specialized institution having expe...
The advent of climate change era has been affirmed by various global processes including 21 May 2... more The advent of climate change era has been affirmed by various global processes including 21 May 2019 recognition by the Anthropocene Working Group of ‘human impact’ in bringing profound alterations on planet earth. It has emerged as the predominant ‘world problematique’. Though entire populations are affected by climate change, women and girls suffer the most. Due to their traditional roles, women are heavily dependent on natural resources. As already seen, as a consequence of natural disasters and during Covid-19 pandemic in 2020-21, women have faced heightened real-life challenges specially being vulnerable to different forms of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). They suffer from a lack of protection, privacy, and mental trauma. Women are exposed to SGBV due to weak or absence of social, economic, political security and the culture of widespread impunity to the perpetrators. There is double victimization of women both as human beings and because of their gender. Effect of SG...
This study examines the role of international courts and tribunals (ICTs) as important agents for... more This study examines the role of international courts and tribunals (ICTs) as important agents for the peaceful settlement of international disputes through the instrumentality of law. The rapid upswing in the number of specialised international courts and tribunals (in areas such as trade, human rights, law of the sea, criminal justice and environment) can be perceived as an attempt by sovereign States to maintain the viability of ICTs in light of perplexity in international relations, growing recognition of peaceful co-existence, quest for institutionalised cooperation and emergence of some of the “common concerns of humankind”, as well as the “duty to cooperate”. The article has sought to make sense of the emergence of ICTs as the “New Environmental Sentinels” and what it portends for our common future. Do we need a specialised international environmental court?
This study seeks to make a modest effort to look back at the marathon peacemaking ushered into by... more This study seeks to make a modest effort to look back at the marathon peacemaking ushered into by the Treaty of Versailles, during 1919–1922 periods, after Armistice was signed on 11 November 1918, bringing to an end the First World War. It has sought to place under scanner the said arduous process of peacemaking, resulting in an imposing corpus of five treaties comprising 1914 articles with Germany and its four other allies (Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary and Turkey). It presents an interesting role of the principal peacemakers therein along with the advent of the era of ‘organizing’ through the League of Nations and other entities such as International Labour Office and Permanent Court of International Justice. Now, at the distance of 101 years from the main event that heralded new milestones in international law and international relations, we have sought to make sense of it so as to deduce lessons to look ahead for our better world. Knowing well that alike human beings, any peacemak...
This chapter provides an overview of the international environmental institutions (IEIs), in thei... more This chapter provides an overview of the international environmental institutions (IEIs), in their varied origins, forms and mandates. The proliferation in the number of states, more than three and half times the United Nations (UN) members in 1945 has put its own pressure in terms of addressing problems of the burgeoning humanity. The IEIs which come into being as legal creatures do generally have well defined mandates. The need for an institutional form arises especially in order to supervise implementation of the relevant conventions, provide a forum for law-making and to ensure adaptability of the convention to changing needs. An examination of the role performed by varied international institutional forms in the field of environment protection and natural resources conservation can include broad categories of functional international organizations, specialized environmental institutions, regime-specific institutions as well as role of the multilateral development banks.Keywords: functional international organizations; International Environmental Institutions (IEIs); international institutional forms; legal creatures; multilateral development banks; regime-specific institutions; specialized environmental institutions; United Nations (UN) members
Convinced that a strong, effective and revitalized United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) wa... more Convinced that a strong, effective and revitalized United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was essential in efforts to reverse environmentally unsustainable trends, the Council declared: "The UNEP is to be the global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda and that serves as authoritative advocate for the global environment" Whether to upgrade UNEP or to replace it with new specialized agency for the environment has, however, remained contentious between governments, scholars and civil society. In general specialized institutions have been established through ad hoc, diffuse and somewhat chaotic processes, generally following the essentially random emergence of environmental issues on to national and international political agendas. With the backdrop of simmering environmental governance crisis, declining funding, erosion of authority and perception of weakness, serious efforts were made by UNEP Governing Council (UNEP GC) to revitalize UNEP. UNEP, being UN's environmental conscience, has the best credentials to spearhead this vital process.Keywords: environmental governance crisis; UN specialized agency; UN's environmental conscience; UNEP Governing Council (UNEP GC); United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s). Publication does not imply en... more The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s). Publication does not imply endorsement by the UNU-EHS or the United Nations University of any of the views expressed. This is a purely scholar work of the author and does not necessarily reflect views of the Government of India. This study was co-sponsored by the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP). ISBN: 3-9810582-8-3 (printed version) ISBN: 3-9810582-9-1 (electronic version)
The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has now attained the milestone of 60 years (1960– 2020). It was reg... more The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has now attained the milestone of 60 years (1960– 2020). It was registered by India with the United Nations on 16 January 1962. It has become a global role model of an international legal mechanism for shared transboundary water resources. It has withstood all the strains, conflicts and lows in the bilateral relations between the riparian states of India and Pakistan. The current trends of global climate change in the Anthropocene epoch have exacerbated the risk of conflict over the shared international freshwater resources under the IWT. The receding glaciers, scanty snowfall, changing land system patterns, increasing demands for water to meet irrigation, industrial and domestic water demands, all have cumulatively made an impact on water availability in the Indus Basin. As the climatic changes induce decline in water flows in the Indus Basin rivers, this study seeks to analyze the actual working of the IWT, efficacy of the in-built conflict resolution...
gives an excellent and thought provoking account of creeping institutionalization of the global e... more gives an excellent and thought provoking account of creeping institutionalization of the global environmental governance. His “story” is not only proving that environment is as much a legal as a security issue. It goes well beyond the fields of his legal expertise as he analyses the creeping institutionalization from the point of view of psychology of the state actors. The reader can follow page by page how the growing environmental awareness is being translated into multilateral actions, treaties including the “thickening web” of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and the “softness of hard law”.
Reviving the United Nations Trusteeship Council (UNTC) and the evolution of the idea of trust in ... more Reviving the United Nations Trusteeship Council (UNTC) and the evolution of the idea of trust in the global domain underscores that there are places, territories, and areas known as ‘global commons’ that require special and careful nurturing. The TC under the UN Charter sought to continue the spirit and essence of the ‘sacred trust’ with a ‘new mandate,’ even as it now lies dormant since 1994. From a scholarly perspective, such a move eminently makes sense since it could bring to life an entity within the UN. It will essentially serve as a guardian of the global ‘common concerns’ and ‘common heritage of mankind’ as well as the global environment. It would serve as a trustee for the present and future generations of humankind. A revived TC with a new mandate (for the environment and the global commons) could strengthen the UN and vindicate one of the core purposes for which the ‘United Nations’ came together (in 1945) with a solemn resolve “to establish conditions under which justice...
This article seeks to place under scanner the role of international courts and tribunals (ICTs) a... more This article seeks to place under scanner the role of international courts and tribunals (ICTs) as important agents for the peaceful settlement of international disputes through the instrumentality of law. The rapid upswing in the number of specialized international courts and tribunals (in areas such as trade, human rights, law of the sea, criminal justice and environment) can be perceived as an attempt by the sovereign states to maintain viability of the ICTs in light of perplexity in international relations, growing recognition of peaceful co-existence, quest for institutionalized cooperation and emergence of some of the ‘Common Concerns of Humankind’ and the ‘Duty to Cooperate’. It has sought to make sense of emergence of ICTs as the ‘New Environmental Sentinels’. Do we need a specialized International Environmental Court (IEC) as an ‘ideal’? What does it portend for our common future?
The article seeks to make a modest effort in making sense of the international environmental law-... more The article seeks to make a modest effort in making sense of the international environmental law-making process. It comprises the subtle normative process currently at work, including ‘global conferencing’ technique resorted to by the UN General Assembly, how it draws upon the basic legal underpinnings of international law, the unique treaty-making enterprise at work, and what this enormous legal churning process portends for the protection of the global environment at this critical time of perplexity in the Anthropocene epoch. It calls for taking serious cognizance of mass destruction of plant and animal species, heavy pollution of fresh water resources, choking of the oceans with plastic and other litter, and alteration of the atmosphere, among other lasting impacts that imperil our only abode Earth. International environmental law-making process is ad hoc and piecemeal and is generally understood to be the product of a lack of a single, central specialized institution having expe...
The advent of climate change era has been affirmed by various global processes including 21 May 2... more The advent of climate change era has been affirmed by various global processes including 21 May 2019 recognition by the Anthropocene Working Group of ‘human impact’ in bringing profound alterations on planet earth. It has emerged as the predominant ‘world problematique’. Though entire populations are affected by climate change, women and girls suffer the most. Due to their traditional roles, women are heavily dependent on natural resources. As already seen, as a consequence of natural disasters and during Covid-19 pandemic in 2020-21, women have faced heightened real-life challenges specially being vulnerable to different forms of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). They suffer from a lack of protection, privacy, and mental trauma. Women are exposed to SGBV due to weak or absence of social, economic, political security and the culture of widespread impunity to the perpetrators. There is double victimization of women both as human beings and because of their gender. Effect of SG...
This study examines the role of international courts and tribunals (ICTs) as important agents for... more This study examines the role of international courts and tribunals (ICTs) as important agents for the peaceful settlement of international disputes through the instrumentality of law. The rapid upswing in the number of specialised international courts and tribunals (in areas such as trade, human rights, law of the sea, criminal justice and environment) can be perceived as an attempt by sovereign States to maintain the viability of ICTs in light of perplexity in international relations, growing recognition of peaceful co-existence, quest for institutionalised cooperation and emergence of some of the “common concerns of humankind”, as well as the “duty to cooperate”. The article has sought to make sense of the emergence of ICTs as the “New Environmental Sentinels” and what it portends for our common future. Do we need a specialised international environmental court?
This study seeks to make a modest effort to look back at the marathon peacemaking ushered into by... more This study seeks to make a modest effort to look back at the marathon peacemaking ushered into by the Treaty of Versailles, during 1919–1922 periods, after Armistice was signed on 11 November 1918, bringing to an end the First World War. It has sought to place under scanner the said arduous process of peacemaking, resulting in an imposing corpus of five treaties comprising 1914 articles with Germany and its four other allies (Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary and Turkey). It presents an interesting role of the principal peacemakers therein along with the advent of the era of ‘organizing’ through the League of Nations and other entities such as International Labour Office and Permanent Court of International Justice. Now, at the distance of 101 years from the main event that heralded new milestones in international law and international relations, we have sought to make sense of it so as to deduce lessons to look ahead for our better world. Knowing well that alike human beings, any peacemak...
This chapter provides an overview of the international environmental institutions (IEIs), in thei... more This chapter provides an overview of the international environmental institutions (IEIs), in their varied origins, forms and mandates. The proliferation in the number of states, more than three and half times the United Nations (UN) members in 1945 has put its own pressure in terms of addressing problems of the burgeoning humanity. The IEIs which come into being as legal creatures do generally have well defined mandates. The need for an institutional form arises especially in order to supervise implementation of the relevant conventions, provide a forum for law-making and to ensure adaptability of the convention to changing needs. An examination of the role performed by varied international institutional forms in the field of environment protection and natural resources conservation can include broad categories of functional international organizations, specialized environmental institutions, regime-specific institutions as well as role of the multilateral development banks.Keywords: functional international organizations; International Environmental Institutions (IEIs); international institutional forms; legal creatures; multilateral development banks; regime-specific institutions; specialized environmental institutions; United Nations (UN) members
Convinced that a strong, effective and revitalized United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) wa... more Convinced that a strong, effective and revitalized United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was essential in efforts to reverse environmentally unsustainable trends, the Council declared: "The UNEP is to be the global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda and that serves as authoritative advocate for the global environment" Whether to upgrade UNEP or to replace it with new specialized agency for the environment has, however, remained contentious between governments, scholars and civil society. In general specialized institutions have been established through ad hoc, diffuse and somewhat chaotic processes, generally following the essentially random emergence of environmental issues on to national and international political agendas. With the backdrop of simmering environmental governance crisis, declining funding, erosion of authority and perception of weakness, serious efforts were made by UNEP Governing Council (UNEP GC) to revitalize UNEP. UNEP, being UN's environmental conscience, has the best credentials to spearhead this vital process.Keywords: environmental governance crisis; UN specialized agency; UN's environmental conscience; UNEP Governing Council (UNEP GC); United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
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