As the crisis of environmental degradation becomes increasingly more urgent, the International Community continues to strive towards the goal of environmental protection and sound environmental policy. To this end, many international agreements have been made such as International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and other Matter, the Convention on Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty and the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. The agreements and environmental protection as a whole hinges on the concept of corporate accountability. The effects of environmental crime are often many faceted and long lasting. Environmental crime often includes human rights violations. The preamble of the 1994 Declaration of Principles on Human Rights and the Environment demonstrates that connection in its inclusion of the right to a healthy environment:

Preamble “Sustainable development links the right to development and the right to a secure, healthy and ecologically sound environment,”

Environmental degradation is additionally accompanied by economic impact through the destruction of natural resources that are vital to the economy. These considerations would well be served by a comprehensive agreement within the International Community that would effect, but not be limited to, transnational corporations. This goal is also reflected in Principle 13 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development.

Principle 13 “States shall develop national law regarding liability and compensation for the victims of pollution and other environmental damage. States shall also cooperate in an expeditious and more determined manner to develop further international law regarding liability and compensation for adverse effects of environmental damage caused by activities within their jurisdiction or control to areas beyond their jurisdiction.”

While national law is clearly important in Environmental law, international policy is necessary in order to reduce conflicts and disjunctures between national policies and to protect the global commons. With this in mind, several policies are recommended.

To uphold and strengthen the principles of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, a comprehensive international agreement must be drafted in order to discourage environmental crime, and to provide some system in which states, regions and individuals have one effective framework and structure to enable their claims to be handled. We suggest the formation of an International Environmental Court to supplement this purpose.

In acknowledgement that some states do not have the resources to enforce environmental policy, we recommend that states consider the consultation of an NGO with relevant environmental expertise when encountering difficulty with environmental policy monitoring or reporting.

Considering the protection of resources to be vital to trade and economy, in the event that trade agreements and environmental policy are irreconcilable to jointly address a specific situation, we recommend that environmental policy take precedence and that transnational corporations as well as states be held accountable to an international environmental agreement.
--Elizabeth Chism, Antioch College, 2003