Study On The Legal System Transboundary Environmen Impact Assessment

Today, as Transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment (TEIA) system in any countries has more than just the domestic system or practices, the special requirements of environmental law makes all governments to adopt special legal methods to meet the needs of protection and preservation of the environment. TEIA is one of the important legal means. However, in the build process, the special nature of TEIA system needs to face the impediment which is different from the Domestic Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Completive interests of countries of TEIA system are also one of the most important challenges. With the analysis of current deficiencies of TEIA, try to seeking the remedies for different defects, and establishing a more comprehensive framework for TEIA system and implementation mechanisms as the international community needed to solve current problem.Diversities of the TEIA in domestic law have been the great challenge in the unified TEIA processes. TEIA among countries is usually reference to international treaties and active through EIA procedures. The conflicts of acknowledge and practice procedures among countries has brought great difficulties to carry out cross-border of TEIA. When a country uses EIA system to carry out TEIA, regardless of whether content or executives, the affected countries may not disagree and generate disputes. Even if the two sides have made reference to the relevant international documents, however, because the files do not have mandatory, and the affected countries only have the right to comment and the State of origin is not obliged to adopt the views of affected countries, there is no obligation to carry out in accordance with the requirements of TEIA. Which led to TEIA is difficult to play its due role.Except cross-border environmental issues between countries, there are also many issues such as Polar Regions and the high seas. Within the regions TEIA system is usually adopted by the neighboring countries involved in the protection of international legal agreements to carry out. Even if the treaties require States to be implemented in that particular area of TEIA, outcome and process of implementation is not mandatory. In view above, TEIA has not achieved its original objectives. Within the high seas outside the Polar Regions, there is no TEIA related to international documents. States only have the obligations of the DEIA within the jurisdiction of the territorial sea, and do not assume responsibility for TEIA. Even TEIA of the Polar Regions, its provisions also more concentrated in guiding framework. States carry out various projects in the region according to domestic law is only the implementation of environmental impact assessment—an outline of guiding had little "guidance "role. Guidelines don't have follow framework to support the outline performing. The lack of the follow specification model is often useless.The currently existing transboundary environmental impact assessment attributes its slow development to a number of aspects. First, due to the different levels of economical and technological development, in the sense that apply the same standard of transboundary environmental impact assessment to both the developing states and the developed states might go against the goal of sustainable development in developing states. This is particularly so when applying the assessment in question to the most essential projects that directly relate to the basic maintenance of citizens. Second, the transboundary environmental impact assessment might be used by developing states to set an undesirable environmental bar upon the developing states, which will severely affect local economical development.To solve the above issues, it is suggested that the whole system needs a refinement, and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities should be introduced in order to fill this gap in transboundary environmental impact assessment in a broader global context, and strike a better balance between state sovereignty and transboundary environmental regulations. From the perspective of environmental protection, two conflicting but intra-influenced mechanisms have been development in the international sphere. On the one hand, the threats of transboundary environmental problems go beyond the jurisdiction of an individual state, prompting a global threat; on the other, sovereign states, international organizations and non-governmental organizations have cooperated to set out international instruments concerning transboundary environmental issues. As such, a"super-national"environmental regulation system has been formulated by these instruments of international environmental applications at the international level.During the construction process of the transboundary environmental impact assessment system, this thesis suggests a global system to be formulated by incorporating the currently existing regional treaties and other instruments. This global system includes an international conventional framework, regional regulations of transboundary environmental impact assessment and domestic legislation of environmental impact assessment. In addition to this proposed global system, it is necessary to establish an internationally accepted standard of transboundary environmental impact assessment, a comprehensive database of global environmental impact materials, as well as to strength the external and internal supervisory mechanisms.This thesis examines international instruments concerning transboundary environmental impact assessment in a broader context. It further constructively suggests establishing a transboundary environmental impact assessment system and a more fluent channel of exchanging environmental impact assessment information. Most importantly, the thesis brings forward the possibility of setting out an international conventional framework of transboundary environmental impact assessment. In so doing, the thesis discusses the system from three aspects, namely the proposed international conventional framework, regional transboundary environmental impact assessment treaties and domestic environmental impact assessment regulations.With regard to the supervisory mechanism of the environmental impact assessment system, this thesis not only concludes that Convention has played an essential role as an external supervisory body, it also suggests that the board of inquiry committee in both the international and national spheres should be empowered to act as external supervisory bodies, as both bodies might contribute to the effective operation of the transboundary environmental impact assessment system.