Corporate Accountability in International Environmental Law

This is the first book to examine systematically all international sources of corporate accountability standards with specific reference to environmental protection and to elaborate on their theoretical and practical implications for international environmental law. The book argues that although international environmental law does not bind multinational corporations and other business entities, growing international practice points to the emergence of legal standards. These standards allow adapting and translating inter-State obligations embodied in international environmental law into specific normative benchmarks to determine the legitimacy of the conduct of the private sector against internationally recognized values and rules.

The role of international organizations that, in the absence of State intervention, identify and promote the application of selected international environmental standards is analyzed in depth. This analysis demonstrates how these international organizations are a driving force in establishing and operating international standards for corporate environmental accountability.

What is the current and future role of international environmental law in directing and controlling the conduct of business enterprises, particularly multinational corporations? This book responds to this topical question by identifying corporate accountability standards and discussing their implementation by international organizations.

This is the first book to examine systematically all international sources of corporate accountability standards with specific reference to environmental protection and to elaborate on their theoretical and practical implications for international environmental law. The book argues that although international environmental law does not bind multinational corporations and other business entities, growing international practice points to the emergence of legal standards. These standards allow adapting and translating inter-State obligations embodied in international environmental law into specific normative benchmarks to determine the legitimacy of the conduct of the private sector against internationally recognized values and rules.

The role of international organizations that, in the absence of State intervention, identify and promote the application of selected international environmental standards is analyzed in depth. This analysis demonstrates how these international organizations are a driving force in establishing and operating international standards for corporate environmental accountability.

Elisa Morgera (LL.M., Ph.D.) is a legal officer at the Development Law Service of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, working on forest, land and fisheries law. Previously, she worked with the International Institute for Sustainable Development and the United Nations Development Program. She lectured on international and European Community environmental law at the Washington State University, the University of Siena, L'Institut d'études politique de Paris, and Temple University Law School. She has authored several academic and practitioner publications in the area of international and EU environmental law, on corporate environmental accountability, and on international environmental negotiations.