Book Review: Non-Regression in International Environmental Law: Human Rights Doctrine and the Promises of Comparative International Law

In times of a climate emergency, the law plays an important role in finding (legal) solutions to damaging processes such as environmental degradation. The role of public international law in areas related to the environment has been analysed by Markus Vordermayer-Riemer initially in a doctoral thesis while having been a research assistant at the Institute of International Law of Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich. Based upon the thesis, Vordermayer-Riemer has recently published a long, but comprehensive book on Non-Regression in International Environmental Law: Human Rights Doctrine and the Promises of Comparative International Law. Focusing on international treaties, the book looks at non-regression from the perspective of human rights law (Part I), environmental treaty regimes (Part II), and comparative international law (Part III). ‘(T)he central hypothesis of the (...) book is that human rights treaties and [multilateral environmental agreements] may have much more in common than is usually thought’ (Page 28). Human rights treaties and multilateral environmental agreements are, therefore, considered together in Part I and II, while comparative international law is introduced in the final part in order to build on encountered traces and to examine the potential of ‘mutual inspiration’ of human rights law and international environmental law. Part I consists of three chapters and covers the human rights angle of the book. The first chapter provides important background on the sources and interpretation of international human rights law. The second chapter solely covers the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Different regional human rights regimes such as the European Social Charter and the Inter-American Human Rights system are covered in the third chapter. Altogether, Part I provides a detailed analysis of progressive obligations and non-regression on the respective human rights frameworks. A conclusion covering the characteristics, strengths, and shortcomings of each regime can be found at the end of every section, or if applicable, at the end of the chapter. Part II of the book is also divided into three chapters and examines whether corresponding or similar normative elements have emerged in international environmental law. Chapter 4 lays out the sources of international environmental law and the interpretation of multilateral environmental agreements. A deeper insight into environmental regimes is provided in the following two chapters, covering the climate change legal regime (Chapter 5) and environmental agreements, focusing on the conservation of biodiversity, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Chapter 6). Book Review