Approaches to Developing Effective Environmental Law Enforcement Mhanisms: A Comparative Analysis of Air Pollution Control Laws in Thailand anecd the United States of America
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Abstract
This research aims to explore the relationship between legal measures and environmental law enforcement mechanisms through comparing air pollution control law enforcement systems between Thailand and the United States of America. This study uses document-based research methodology. The findings reveal that legal design affects the characteristics and effectiveness of law enforcement mechanisms through three key differences between Thai and U.S. laws. First, regarding legal system structure, the United States develops environmental law based on specific issues, placing air pollution law under the Clean Air Act (CAA), and with cooperative federalism as the foundational concept, enforcement authority over air pollution sources rests with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and states. In contrast, Thailand’s laws are fragmented by pollution source types, resulting in limited authority of environmental agencies and local governments in enforcing laws over pollution sources. Second, although both the United States and Thailand share similar legal structures primarily on the basis of command-and-control instruments, they differ in details, and the United States integrates informational instrument. This leads to the third difference: the U.S. monitoring and enforcement system features transparency, a centralized database linking information, and mechanisms for public participation, while Thailand, despite allowing private inspectors and requiring data submission from regulated entities, still has limited data disclosure. The findings demonstrates that improving environmental law enforcement requires not merely strengthening legal authorities and penalties, but restructuring the legal framework and expanding legal instruments to align with Smart Regulation concepts emphasizing multi-stakeholder participation.
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