An emerging principle: weighing effective implementation of environmental law via legal indicators

Environmental law, despite its amazing growth for about half a century, has yet to be fully implemented in an effective fashion. Notoriously, across the world, there is a persistent gap between laws on the books and in practice. Hence the need to address this enduring implementation gap globally. This common concern for real law enforcement prompted the International Centre for Comparative Environmental Law (CIDCE) to design an innovative methodology for the development of science-based legal indicators of effectivity. Briefly illustrating the usefulness of such legal indicators, this note advocates their acknowledgement as a key tool for an accurate assessment of the effectivity of environmental law at national, regional and global levels. This would entail the recognition of an emerging principle of measurement of the effectivity of environmental law, hopefully in conjunction with the upcoming celebrations of UNEP@50 and Stockholm+50.

Article by Michel Prieur