Part III Conceptual Pillars, Ch.22 Good Faith

This chapter studies the principle of good faith, which has been declared by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as ‘a well-established principle of international law’. Through judicial pronouncements and state practice, it has come to acquire concrete legal content. The principle of good faith is closely linked to the concept of legal security; it provides certainty and foreseeability in society, and as such is fundamental and necessary to any legal system. The chapter examines the role that the principle of good faith could play, first, in general international law relating to the environment, focusing on three broad areas of environmental treaty performance, environmental cooperation, and due diligence. It then considers the more concrete role that the principle of good faith could play within multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) as special legal regimes. Finally, the chapter analyses two concrete contexts within which the principle of good faith could be engaged to perform specific normative functions in the operation of MEAs, namely in non-compliance and ‘pledge and review’ mechanisms.