The no harm rule principle - a technique between the protection of state sovereignty and international environmental protection

Kastratović Aleksandra (Institut za međunarodnu politiku i privredu, Beograd), kastratovic@diplomacy.bg.ac.rs
Vučić Mihajlo (Institut za međunarodnu politiku i privredu), mihajlo@diplomacy.bg.ac.rs

Environmental degradation is one of the most complex challenges facing the international community today. The core of the problem lies in the tension between the states’ interests in exercising sovereign rights and the interests of environmental protection. The principle of the no‐harm rule in international environmental law operates as a technique for resolving these complex problems with consideration and by balancing interests. The obligation not to cause harm is an indispensable part of this principle and an operational mechanism that sets the standards of conduct required of states. This approach implies that the focus is not on the protection of ecological integrity itself but on the threshold of harm and due care, i.e., standards that are generally insufficiently legally specified. However, the urgency to protect the environment from degradation reflects an important trend of giving greater and more privileged importance to the protection of ecological values related to state‐centric interests.

Keywords: no‐harm rule, state sovereignty, international legal protection of the environment