Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources

International Environmental Law Committee

2009-2010 Committee Co-Chairs:

Roger R. Martella, Jr., Sidley Austin LLP, Washington, DC
James W. Rubin, Hunton & Williams LLP, Washington, DC

Stetson University College of Law International Environmental Moot Court Competition

The International Environmental Law Committee is once again co-sponsoring the Stetson University College of Law International Environmental Moot Court Competition. We encourage Committee members to consider serving as memorial (brief) or oral round judges. The 2009-2010 moot involves a conflict over marine seismic surveys conducted for hydrocarbon exploration and their alleged impact on beaked whales.

Memorial judges: Memorials will be available for grading after February 15, 2010, and judges will have approximately three weeks to submit their scores. As in the past, there is a word limit, and the memorials are typically 25 pages in length. Stetson will email to memorial judges a copy of the problem and eight to ten memorials to grade. It is not necessary for judges to provide any written comments, and judges will receive a grading sheet that explains the scoring process. If you wish to review the problem in advance, it is available at http://www.law.stetson.edu/tmpl/academics/bio/internal-1-sub.aspx?id=4642 — click on "Record." If you’d like to judge memorials, please contact Prof. Brooke Bowman at bowman@law.stetson.edu.

Oral round judges: Teams compete in regional rounds and then advance to the International Finals. We are in the process of finalizing dates and locations for many of the regional rounds and will provide updates. Presently oral round judges are needed for the following rounds:

North American (Atlantic) Rounds: February 4-6, 2010, at the University of Maryland School of Law. Contact Jacqueline McNamara at jmcnamara@law.umaryland.edu
International Finals: March 12-14, 2010, at Stetson University College of Law, Gulfport, Florida. Contact Royal C. Gardner at gardner@law.stetson.edu

For more information, contact:
Royal C. Gardner, Professor of Law and Director
Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy, Stetson University College of Law
gardner@law.stetson.edu

Welcome from the Chair

Welcome to the Homepage for the International Environmental Law Committee. The Committee is a leading forum for practitioners and others who are interested in legal and policy issues related to international environmental law. Our membership includes lawyers who advise governments, non-governmental organizations, associations, and companies of all sizes on the full spectrum of issues in the international environmental milieu; many academics and students are also among our members. The Committee’s 2009-2010 leadership (names, responsibilities, and contact information are displayed in the column to the right) encourages active involvement by our expanding membership in the Committee’s newsletter, programs, and public service projects.

Some of the legal issues that the Committee will consider this year include:

Global climate change and energy issues
Sustainable development
Environmental and social responsibility reporting
International regulation of chemicals and biotechnology
Extended producer responsibility and product stewardship
Biodiversity and forest resource protection

The scope of the Committee, however, is not limited to these issues and is as broad as those areas in which our membership is interested. We urge you to join the Committee and become an active participant. We particularly encourage your efforts to develop programs, write articles and provide useful information to the Committee. Please contact the relevant officers as listed on the right-hand column.

Best regards,
Jim Rubin

2008-2009 Committee Action Plan

Each Committee is to identify the substantive and practice issues within its purview that it wishes to develop for the Section's members and then prepare a plan for addressing those issues.

Download the International Environmental Law Committee Action Plan

About the Committee

"International environmental law's importance cannot be underestimated for it involves, quite literally, the fate of future generations and that of the earth." Hunter, Salzman & Zaelke, International Environmental Law and Policy (2002).

International environmental law is unique in the legal arena for its impact across different policies, borders and generations. Coupled with the broad array of environmental problems that the world community is beginning to address, from climate change to fisheries to chemicals policy, international environmental law is an incredibly dynamic and expanding field of law. This young, complex and important body of law is the focus of the Committee.

The Committee brings together attorneys from across the United States and around the world to better understand international environmental law. Our members include lawyers in solo practice, small and large private law firms, corporations, government, and non-governmental organizations, as well as faculty from schools of law on several continents. The primary objective of the Committee is to provide members with the tools and resources to enhance their practice or research, such as by this internet site, conferences, and a newsletter published periodically. The Committee also endeavors to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and experiences.

The Committee concentrates on the following subjects, with varying intensity depending upon developments and member interest:

International Environmental Lawmaking.
Principles and Concepts Shaping International Environmental Law.
Multilateral Institutions and International Environmental Law.
Role of Technology and Science in International Environmental Law.
Compliance and Dispute Resolution Practices Toward More Effective International Environmental Law.
International Environmental Protection. This area would address the numerous issues associated with media and natural-resource specific international legal regimes.
- Air and Atmospheric Pollution Law.
- Hazardous Waste and Materials Law.
- Freshwater Resources Law.
- Marine Resources Law.
- Biodiversity and Wildlife Law.
- Habitat Protection Law.
- Mineral and Energy Resources Law.
Interplay Between International Environmental Law and Other Legal Regimes or Policy Debates. Key topics would include the following.
- Development and the Environment.
- Occupational Health and Safety and the Environment.
- Trade and the Environment.
- Human Rights and the Environment.
- National Security, War, and Environmental Protection.
Regional and Comparative Environmental Law.
International Environmental Issues of Particular Concern to the Regulated Community and Other Stakeholders. This area would cover a wide and changing number of international environmental law topics of concern to business, citizen groups, government regulators, and other stakeholders.
- Clean Production.
- Environmental Reporting.
- Extraterritorial Application of United States Environmental Law.
- Product Stewardship.
- Public Participation and Transparency in the Environmental Lawmaking Process.
- Resource Scarcity.
The Practice of International Environmental Law.
International Environmental Law Research.

Membership

Become a member of this Committee.
If you are a member of the Section of Environment, Energy and Resources of the American Bar Association, you can become a member of the Committee on International Environmental Law at no cost. If you are not a member of the Section of Environment Energy and Resources, and you are already a member of the American Bar Association, you may join online. If you are not a member of the American Bar Association, you may also join online.

To join the Committee on International Environmental Law, please click here. Once we receive your committee preference form, you will be contacted and receive a copy of the International Environmental Committee Newsletter. You will also be advised of upcoming Committee activities.

International Environmental Law Committee Membership vice chair:
Thomas P Redick.