International Dispute Settlement

In international treaties, dispute settlement clauses follow the description of the agreed rules. As a result of this eventual and ancillary function, the law and procedure of international dispute settlement has long been the Cinderella of international law. In the past two decades, a series of considerations has modified this casual attitude towards international dispute settlement, particularly in the environmental sphere. Environmental factors have been increasingly acknowledged to be a relevant source of international tension and disputes, and even of actual threats to international...

In international treaties, dispute settlement clauses follow the description of the agreed rules. As a result of this eventual and ancillary function, the law and procedure of international dispute settlement has long been the Cinderella of international law. In the past two decades, a series of considerations has modified this casual attitude towards international dispute settlement, particularly in the environmental sphere. Environmental factors have been increasingly acknowledged to be a relevant source of international tension and disputes, and even of actual threats to international peace and security. The settlement of environmental disputes can be explored along many different themes and variables. This article examines international dispute settlement in the field of the environment by contrasting dispute settlement by way of procedures contained in international environmental agreements (endogenous) to dispute settlement by way of procedures either of non-environmental agreements or of environmental agreements other than the one under which the dispute arose (exogenous).