Published In
American Journal of International Law
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2009
Subjects
Environmental Agreements, Treaty Compliance, World Heritage Convention, Corporations
Abstract
The gravitational pull of environmental treaties is felt not only by states. Yet international lawyers almost exclusively focus on states to explain treaty compliance, measure treaty implementation, and assess treaty effectiveness. This essay draws attention to a phenomenon that falls outside traditional boundaries of treaty analysis: the efforts of private corporations that aim at complying with environmental treaties. Existing models of treaty implementation are inadequate to explain these direct interactions between corporations and treaties. The dominant grammar of treaty “compliance” equally fails to fit. Using a little-studied example - the UNESCO World Heritage Convention - this essay highlights the phenomenon of corporations’ aspiring to conform their behavior to environmental treaty requirements.
Citation Details
Natasha A Affolder, "The Private Life of Environmental Treaties" (2009) 103 Am J Int'l L 510.