About This

International Environmental Law Research Guide

Introduction

Growth of international environmental law as a separate area of public international law began in the 1970s with the Stockholm Conference on the Environment in 1972. Since then interest has steadily increased and it is one of the fastest growing areas of international law. Current issues of international concern covered by environmental law include ozone layer depletion and global warming, desertification, destruction of tropical rain forests, marine plastics pollution from ships, international trade in endangered species (i.e. ivory trade), shipment of hazardous wastes to Third World countries, deforestation of Brazil and the Philippines, protection of wetlands, oil spills, transboundary nuclear air pollution (i.e. Chernobyl), dumping of hazardous wastes, groundwater depletion, international trade in pesticides, and acid rain. Environmental law is also cutting across other areas of international law, such as commercial/business law, trade, and human rights.

International cooperation in the form of treaties, agreements and resolutions created by intergovernmental organizations as well as national laws and regulations are being used to protect the environment. The researcher is usually looking for documents from the major organizations concerned with protection of the environment such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the European Union, the OECD, and the Council of Europe. Since ultimate responsibility for the protection of the environment remains at the national and local level, municipal laws and regulations related to the environment are increasingly being sought after.

This is an in-depth guide to researching international environmental law. If you would like a quick guide listing only the key resources, see our International Environmental Law page from Find It Fast. If you have questions, please feel free to contact the Wolff Library reference desk at 202-662-4195 or by email: intlref@law.georgetown.edu. You may also submit your question via this online form.

Treaties

Treaties govern many aspects of international environmental law. This section lists many of the most common multilateral treaties and indicates sources for locating treaties generally. For more detailed information on researching treaties--including treaty indexes, status, updating and ratification information--see our Treaty Research guide.

Top Environmental Treaties and Agreements Online

This list highlights some of the most frequently cited multilateral agreements related to the environment. This is not a complete list of all agreements. See EISIL's International Environmental Law page for links to many additional agreements.

Online Treaty Collections

Collections Specific to International Environmental Law
General Treaty Collections

Specialized Print Sources

Statutes and Regulations

One of the best places to start researching foreign statutes and regulations on environmental law is the Foreign Law Guide. Use the Foreign Law Guide to select your jurisdiction (most countries are covered), then look at the subject heading "Environmental Protection." This section will list relevant environmental laws for that country. Some additional resources are listed below. For more information on locating foreign law, see Researching Foreign and Comparative Law.

  • International Encyclopedia of Laws : Environmental Law INTL K3585.4.E583 1991 (updated regularly) This set provides extensive background information on the environmental law of individual countries. Useful for finding citations and summaries of statutes and regulations. The following countries are covered: Bangladesh, Belgium, Botswana, Bulgaria, China, Czech and Slovak Republics, Ethiopia, Finland, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Malta, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, The Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia & Montenegro, South Africa, Switzerland, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, Uruguay and USA.
  • Compendium of Environmental Laws of African Countries INTL KQC705.C65 1996 (updated regularly)
  • Code de l'Environnement (France) INTL KJV5406.A52
  • German Environmental Law for Practitioners (2nd edition) INTL KK6242.G47 2004 Includes translations of several key laws.
  • Environmental Law and Policy in India : Cases, Materials, and Statutes INTL KNS1507.R67 2002
  • International Digest of Health Legislation Older issues available in print. INTL K3569.2.I5
  • International Evironment Reporter (subscription database - GULC only) Also available on Westlaw (BNA-INTENVR), Lexis (Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > Environment > Treatises & Analytical Materials > BNA) and in print. INTL REF K3585.4 I58 1978
  • International Protection of the Environment : Conservation in Sustainable Development INTL K3585.4.I58 1995 (updated regularly)
  • Manual of European Environmental Law (2nd edition) INTL KJC6242.K57 1997
  • Martindale-Hubbell International Law Digest INTL REF KF190.M45 Also available on Lexis (Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > International Law > Treatises & Analytical Materials).
  • FAOLEX National laws on food and agriculture.
  • Summary of Environmental Law in North America (Commission for Environmental Cooperation)

National and International Case Law

In addition to these sources, periodical literature is a good source for citations and sometimes the text of national and international case law.

Soft Law in International Environmental Law

The Parry and Grant Encyclopaedic dictionary of International Law INTL REF KZ1161 .P35 2004 defines soft law as "A term used to refer to non-binding instruments or documents which have the appearance of law....[Soft law] is not binding, but it can be politically influential in setting down objectives and aspirations. Areas in which soft law has been particularly influential include international economic law and international environmental law."

Documents constituting soft law can often be located on the websites of individual organizations. Examples of key soft law documents in international environmental law include Agenda 21: Programme of Action for Sustainable Development, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and the Forest Principles. For an overview of how soft law works in European Union law, see Soft Law in European Community Law INTL KJE947.S45 2004.

Below are some additional sources and background materials on soft law in international environmental law.

Databases

Most of our databases are accessible from off-campus. If you have trouble accessing a database from off-campus, you can chat with a librarian during regular reference service hours for help. All of these databases are GULC only.

International Environmental Law Databases

These databases include information that is focused on the international aspects of environmental law.

  • Greenwire
    Greenwire is a daily news service published by Environment and Energy Publishing, LLC that reports on the latest environmental and energy politics and policy at state, national and international levels. Greenwire collects and summarizes environmental coverage from various print, broadcast and online sources; provides summaries of U.S. environmental laws; and provides a searchable database of all Greenwire articles published since 1996. With its sister publications, Environment and Energy Daily and Land Letter, Greenwire provides comprehensive coverage of the day’s environmental news.
  • International Environment Daily (BNA)
    Database provides content from the daily publication (coverage begins January 2, 2001). Covers developments in environmental, natural resource, and chemicals issues, in all major industrialized and developing nations and in international governmental and nongovernmental organizations. Includes "green" legislation worldwide; EU, UN, IMO, and OECD directives; international legislatures, regulatory agencies, and organizations; political, economic, and technological factors affecting environmental programs in the U.S. and around the world; institutional framework for environmental programs in other countries; crucial developments in international law, such as climate change, POPs, the Basel Treaty, and sustainable development.
  • International Environment Reporter (BNA)
    Electronic version of the biweekly publication (coverage begins February 7, 1996). Covers international environmental law and policy in the major industrialized and developing nations. Includes global "green" legislation from proposal to enactment to enforcement; EU, UN, IMO, and OECD directives; international legislatures, regulatory agencies, and organizations.

Westlaw

Westlaw has several databases that can be useful for researching international environmental law. The name of the database is list below, along with the database identifier in parentheses. You can quickly go directly to an individual database in Westlaw by typing the database identifier in the "Search these databases" box.

  • Global Environmental Change Report (GLECR)
  • Europe Environment (EUROENV)
  • Environment Watch East Europe, Russia and Eurasia (EWEERE)
  • Environment Watch Latin America (EWLA)
  • Environmental, Health and Safety Regulations (ENFLEX-INT)
  • International Environment Daily (BNA-IED)
  • Textline Global News (INT-NEWS)
  • World Environment Report (WENVRPT)
  • U.S. Treaties & Other International Agreements (USTREATIES)

Westlaw has some foreign law coverage. Countries include: Canada, Hong Kong, Mexico, Spain and United Kingdom.

Lexis

Lexis has several databases that can be useful for researching international environmental law. The name of the database is listed below, along with the path to follow through the legal tab directory.

  • BNA International Environment Daily
    Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > Environment > Treatises & Analytical Materials > BNA
  • BNA International Environment Report
    Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > Environment > Treatises & Analytical Materials > BNA
  • Global Environmental Politics
    Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > Environment > General News & Information
  • UK Environment News
    Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > Environment > General News & Information
  • U.S. Treaties on Lexis
    Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > International Law > Treaties & International Agreements

Lexis has some foreign law coverage. Countries include: Argentina, Canada, China & Hong Kong, France, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and United Kingdom.

General Databases

These are just a few general databases that may assist in researching international environmental law. Our Online Collection has a complete listing. If you are doing comparative research and would like to include U.S. environmental law information, see our U.S. Environmental Law Research Guide for a list of U.S.-focused databases.

  • Academic Search Premier
    Provides full text for over 4,600 publications covering academic areas of study including social sciences, humanities, education, and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, and ethnic studies. Over 8,200 titles are abstracted and indexed, of which approximately 3,600 are peer-reviewed. Coverage: 1975 – present.
  • HeinOnline
    Legal database that contains the full text of legal documents in pdf format, in several collections. The Law Journal Library contains articles from most major law reviews and law journals. Approximately 650 law journals and reviews are included, beginning with the inception date of each publication. Individual journals, or the entire collection, are fully searchable by author or word in title, or keyword or phrase in full text. The Federal Register Library contains the only electronic version of all Federal Register issues. The Treaties and Agreements Library contains all U.S. treaties and agreements, whether in force, expired, or yet-to-be published.
  • JSTOR
    This database includes the full text of the articles from 340 scholarly paper journals, most beginning with the first volume. Coverage excludes articles from the most recent 3 to 5 years. PDF format. Searching is available across all bibliographic fields and in the full text.

Selected Books

This section highlights some recent titles held by the library. To search for more books, try keyword searching in the library catalog. If the library does not own a title you would like, you may request it through Interlibrary Loan (ILL).

  • International Environmental law in a Nutshell (2nd edition) INTL Reserve K3585.6.G87 2003 A good introductory source.
  • International Environmental Law (3rd edition) INTL K3585.4.K574 2004 One of the standard works on the subject by Alexandre Kiss and Dinah Shelton.
  • Documents in International Environmental Law, INTL KJC6242 .W65 2002. Phillippe Sands & Paolo Galizzi authorship comprises a representative selection of international environmental treaties and documents which are essential for anyone interested in international law in the field of environmental protection.
  • Defending the Environment : Civil Society Strategies to Enforce International Environmental Law INTL K3585.M352 2006
  • Differential Treatment in International Environmental Law INTL K3585.R34 2006
  • Hunter, Salzman & Zaelke, International Environmental Law and Policy (3rd edition) INTL REF K3585.3 .H86 2007
  • Brown Weiss, International Environmental Law and Policy (2nd edition) Williams K3585.3 .I568 2006
  • Principles of International Environmental Law (2nd edition) INTL K3585.S265 2003
  • Whaling Diplomacy : Defining Issues in International Environmental Law INTL K3900.W57 G55 2005

Periodical Literature

Want to find out if you can get electronic access to a journal article through the library? Check the E-Journal Finder! From the library homepage, it's the first link under Quick Links. The E-Journal Finder even tells you if a journal is available on Lexis and Westlaw. To use the E-Journal Finder, type in the name of the journal, and see what sources will give you full-text electronic access. If we don't have the journal electronically, check the library catalog for a print version or request the article through interlibrary loan.

Indexes & Periodicals Databases

Periodical literature is a good way to obtain background information, locate the text of a foreign law, a citation, or locate information about a subject. To obtain the best results, use periodical indexes to locate relevant citations.

Below are listed a few of the most commonly used journal indexes. See our journal indexes page for a complete list. If you are new to using indexes to find articles, have a look at these two guides: Locating Journal Articles: Foreign & International and Using Articles for Legal and Non-Legal Research.

Full text of articles are available in the Cambridge, Oxford and Kluwer databases listed below.

Selected Specialized Journals

  • European Environmental Law Review INTL K5.U73
    Electronic access from 2000 to present. See E-Journal Finder for links. Older articles only in print in the library.
  • International Environment Reporter INTL REF K3585.4.I58 1978
    Available through Lexis, 1987-present [Legal - Area of Law by Topic - Environment - Treatises & Analytical Materials - BNA] and Westlaw, 1998 - present [BNA-INTENVR databases]. Also available through our database list, 1996 - present.
  • Journal of Environmental Law INTL K10.O334
    Available on Westlaw, 2002 - present [JENVTLL database]
  • IRPTC Bulletin INTL K3664.A13 I7
  • Environmental Policy and Law INTL K5.N88
    Only available in print in the library.
  • Georgetown International Environmental Law Review INTL K7.E46 Available on Westlaw, Lexis and HeinOnline.
  • Yearbook of International Environmental Law INTL K3581.2.Y43 Only available in print in the library. This annual publication contains articles, a yearly overview of the environment, and country/region reports.

Other Periodical Literature

There are many periodicals devoted to environmental law generally that will cover international law topics. See general periodical indexes, Lexis, and Westlaw. General social and physical sciences periodicals are another good source of information. Consult this list of social sciences and environmental science resources for more useful databases and indexes.

Organizations

Intergovernmental Organizations

Non-Governmental Organizations

Additional Web Resources

This section includes selected research centers, portals, links pages, news sources and networks.

  • CIEL - The Center for International Environmental Law
    CIEL is a nonprofit organization working to use international law and institutions to protect the environment, promote human health, and ensure a just and sustainable society. CIEL's publications page links to scholarly papers on the following topics: biodiversity and wildlife, chemicals, climate change, human rights & the environment, trade & sustainable development, and more.
  • EISIL - International Environmental Law
    Links to treaties and key websites by topic.
  • ECOLEX
    This portal provides information on environmental treaties, soft law, national legislation, case law and secondary literature.
  • E-LAW Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide
    E-Law is an advocacy group that provides global access to legal and scientific information. Organized topically, the Resources Page links to national laws, case law, and other materials.
  • ENTRI Environmental Treaties and Resource Indicators
    ENTRI is a convenient source to find out to which environmental treaties a country is a party. Also provides environmental overviews of individual countries.
  • EnviroLink
    EnviroLink is a news and information resource on environmental law. It organizes online information into meaningful topics.
  • FishLex
    Maintained by the FAO, FishLex lists coastal state requirements for foreign fishing.
  • IISD Linkages
    Daily news source for coverage of international negotiations. Publishes the current awareness tool, Earth Negotiations Bulletin.
  • National Agricultural Law Center
    The U.S.-focused resource provides access to primary sources materials, including the text of farm bills, federal register notices, summaries of recent case law, and Congressional Research Service reports.
  • WaterLex
    Maintained by the FAO, WaterLex has international agreements on international water sources.

Bibliographies and Other Research Guides

Bibliographies

Bibliographies do some of your research for you! They're usually a list of articles and books on a specific topic. They can save you a lot of time in your research.

Other Research Guides

Want more information about international environmental law? These other research guides may help.

Revised May 2007 (aeb)