Multilateral Environmental Agreements and the Compliance Continuum

TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE, p. 387, Gerd Winter, ed., Cambridge University Press, 2005

14 Pages Posted: 28 May 2012 Last revised: 30 May 2012

See all articles by Jutta Brunnée

Jutta Brunnée

University of Toronto, Faculty of Law

Date Written: 2005

Abstract

In the context of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) much academic thought has been devoted to compliance techniques, with most theorists propounding either a managerial or an enforcement-oriented approach. While the managerial approach focuses on compliance strategies that direct attention to the causes of non-compliance and attempt to manage them through transparency, dispute settlement and capacity-building, the enforcement approach focuses on the creation of costs or the removal of benefits in order to ensure compliance. Furthermore, while the former theory views international law as effecting a "compliance pull," the latter views international law as subordinate to the interests of rational states. This article aims to broaden this debate, arguing that the use of constructivist international relation theory and an 'interactional' understanding of international law can complement both dominant theories and frame the question in terms of a "compliance continuum."

Constructivism views international law as neither subordinate to the interests of states nor as imposed social control, preferring instead to categorize it as a "shared understanding" formed through social interaction. In this view, the internal legitimacy of international law, its binding force and its compliance pull are all inextricably linked. Due to a narrow focus on formal indicators of the strength of international law, both the management and enforcement-oriented theories may miss or at least undervalue important parts of the compliance picture. Therefore, by focusing more on internal legitimacy factors, the constructivist-inspired interactional theory illuminates a wider range of options - and arguably prerequisites - for effective compliance strategies.

Suggested Citation

Brunnée, Jutta, Multilateral Environmental Agreements and the Compliance Continuum (2005). TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE, p. 387, Gerd Winter, ed., Cambridge University Press, 2005, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2069255

Jutta Brunnée (Contact Author)

University of Toronto, Faculty of Law ( email )

78 and 84 Queen's Park
Toronto, Ontario M5S 2C5
Canada
416-946-7353 (Phone)
416-978-7899 (Fax)

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
229
Abstract Views
1,210
Rank
258,273
PlumX Metrics