Environmental Impact Assessment as a Duty Under International Law: The International Court of Justice Judgment on Pulp Mills on the River Uruguay

Abstract:     
On April 20, 2010, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced its judgment in a dispute between Argentina and Uruguay concerning Uruguay’s authorization for pulp mills on the banks of the Uruguay River, which forms the international boundary between the two countries. This judgment is a significant step forward in the ICJ’s jurisprudence on environmental law and on shared watercourses. The Court recognized environmental impact assessment as a practice that has become an obligation of general international law in these situations.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 8

Keywords: International Court of Justice, Water, Sustainable Development, Environmental Impact Assessment

Accepted Paper Series