On Compliance Mechanism Of International Environmental Treaties

Compliance mechanism of international environmental treaties is a new kind of procedure and system which will guarantee the fulfillment of environmental treaties. To suit for the features of environmental problems, in the framework of international environmental treaties compliance mechanism creates the new corporations between treaty-parties as well as treaty-parties and treaty-bodies, strengthen the capacity of fulfilling agreements. Meanwhile, to promote treaty-implementation, compliance mechanism also can be used to deal with non-compliance problems. Since compliance mechanism puts emphasis on preventing non-compliance and encouraging treaty-compliance, it has been viewed a beneficial exploration on avoiding international disputes. What is more, it adapt to the characters of the global environmental problems and environmental agreements. Theoretically, compliance mechanism has several features: preventive, non-confrontation and treaty-interior structure.From aspect of economic science, compliance mechanism presents profoundly the result of evaluating interests and costs among many treaty-parties states on the matter of agreements compliance. At the same time, it also reflects complexity of international environmental corporation. In fact, international environmental corporation relies upon a series of international systems. The reason of the origin of international system and the appearance of international coorporation is that individual entities make the complicated negotiations and gambling tasks.Compliance mechanism is closely related to the basic principles of international environmental law. The two basic principles mainly have two items: One is the risk-prevention principle; the other is the principle of common but differentiated responsibility. Among the two principles, the former is one of the purpose of compliance mechanism, and the latter is regarded the basic premise and important condition of compliance mechanism designing and operation.A comprehensive compliance mechanism should contain three aspects of contents: the Compliance Primary Rules System; Compliance information Decision System; Non-compliance Response System. These three aspects rule systems mutually support and supplement, and constitute one special international legal mechanism, which not only links the preceding with the following, but also is relatively independent.As for institution-building, most compliance mechanisms set up the Compliance Committee to handle compliance problems. The Compliance Committee, established by the relevant decision of Conference of Parties, is the special body to cope with compliance problems according to the authority from the Conference of Parties. The Compliance Committee should present working reports towards Conference of Parties, and adopt the policy advice from Conference of Parties. According to authority, the Compliance Committee has the right to deal with non-compliance cases and decide whether they are non-compliance facts. But as for the measures of encouraging compliance, it is different as the treaty rules are different. The different authority of the Compliance Committee shows the different relations between the Conference of Parties and the Compliance Committee as well as the relations between treaty-parties. It also reflects the different functions of the Compliance Committee.Generally speaking, compliance mechanism can be started the following three ways: The first way is started by one party against the other parties; The second is started by one party against itself on its own initiative; The last way is started by relevant treaty bodies, such as treaty secretariat or the specific expert-appraisal panel of international environmental treaty. The operation procedure of compliance mechanism is slightly different because of the different starting way, but on roughly it contains information examination, the determination, decision of whether it is non-compliance, and taking some measures. In the fields of the ozone-layer protection and climatic change, the compliance mechanism of several typical international environment treaties also have respectively different characteristics.With respect to the reasons of non-compliance, different states have the different answers. As for the developing countries, the reason is insufficient ability of fulfilling agreements. To developed countries, they lack political wish to implement environmental agreements. Developed country is negative on the issue of providing fund and technology assistance because of insufficient political wish, which thus results in inability of fulfilling agreement of developing states. That is the deep root of non-compliance. To developing countries, the system of fund and technical assistance from developed countries is the premise of compliance treaty. Compliance mechanism emphasis that developing states should get help on promoting their ability of fulfilling agreement and it is viewed the strengthening and supplementing of the assistance system of international environmental agreements. Therefore, to some extent, compliance mechanism maybe can solve the non-compliance problems because of lacking of ability of fulfilling agreements. For instance, in the practice of Montreal Protocol, the compliance mechanism has handled a lot of non-compliance cases in the economic-transition states and thus is beneficial to solve the difficulties of fulfilling international environmental agreements in these states. Fourthermore, it has played important role in promoting the implementation of Montreal Protocol.China is one of the developing nations. Based on the sincere attitude of international cooperation, China earnestly compliance the international environment treaties signed or participated by Chinese government and attained good compliance effect. But China should pay more attention on such issues as capacity-building of fulfilling agreements, fund and technology, encouraging local government and enterprises to compliance international environmental treaties actively.