A Fine Balance: Facilitation and Enforcement in the Design of a Compliance Regime or the Kyoto Protocol

Abstract:     
This article addresses the challenges of the development of a compliance regime in the course of the negotiation of various aspects of the Kyoto Protocol. In particular, the article examines how a balance is best struck between states’ sovereignty concerns and the need for appropriate non-compliance procedures, and between facilitation and enforcement of compliance. Based on an assessment of the concerns and priorities raised in the negotiations, the article offers a basic model for the structure of a compliance regime for the Kyoto Protocol. It also provides a broader discussion of the role of legal norms and their possible influence on state behaviour.

Keywords: Kyoto Protocol, environmental law

Accepted Paper Series