2011 Theses Doctoral

Science-Based Lawmaking: Effective Integration of Science in International Environmental Lawmaking

Avgerinopoulou, Dionysia Theodora

The Thesis takes the approach of a critique of the current international environmental lawmaking processes and the systemic shortcomings and aims to redesign parts of the international environmental lawmaking system on new terms. Through case studies and doctrinal analyses, an array of initial questions guides the research through a variety of factors influencing the International Environmental Law. The Thesis mainly tests and finds the following hypotheses positive; some of the decisive factors that would create an optimized lawmaking framework and advance the purposes of I.E.L. include, but are not limited to, the adoption of:
(a) progressive voting processes, including the majority rule and opting-out procedures as means of adopting primary and, most importantly, secondary legislation resulting in legally binding rules upon the States without requiring prior ratification by the states within the framework of International Organizations or Multilateral Environmental Agreements;
(b) science-based secondary legislation, defined by specific criteria and boundaries that primary laws pose on them, that is more detailed than primary laws and of a more technical nature, promulgated by expert bodies alone, without the intervention of political bodies, and is binding upon States, unless the latter object with reason; and
(c) new procedural rules, related to the pre- and post-lawmaking stages that enhance participation in the lawmaking process by both experts and the public and review the implementation, compliance and validity of science and technology of the laws, while at the same time guarantee all forms of legitimacy. The Thesis does not aim to produce a countervailing lawmaking model. It rather attempts to optimize some of the lawmaking processes based on an enhanced science-base in order to better protect our global natural environment and public health.