States' Duty to Compliance with International Law and the Environmental Protection

Abstract

International environmental law is public international law that provides the general principle and rule for States to act or perform the related duty to protect the environment. International environmental law has been developed and crystalised through many sources of international law, including international conventions, cases or non-binding instruments. Among principles or rules of international environmental law, the duty to cooperate is the stepping-stone for States to implement other principles and rule. In this connection, a duty to cooperate may lead to other consent or even an agreement to perform other duties in order to protect the environment. Therefore, this paper will explore the rationale, development and significance of the States’ duty to cooperate. The duty that later becomes a necessary duty for the protection of the environment in the international regime.