The Stockholm Declaration, Principle by Principle
Chapter Fifty-One
Syllabus topic 3, "International Concern for Environment Protection"
Pages 151 to 153 of 663
In one line
Twenty-six principles, of which one became binding law, four bought the developing world's agreement, and one set an agenda that has still not been carried out.
How to use this chapter
MU does not ask for a recitation of twenty-six principles and no examiner would want one. What is wanted is the ability to name the right principle for the point being made. This chapter groups them so that a student can find the one they need.
Group one: the foundation
Principle 1. Man has the fundamental right to freedom, equality and adequate conditions of life, in an environment of a quality that permits a life of dignity and well-being, and he bears a solemn responsibility to protect and improve the environment for present and future generations. Policies promoting or perpetuating apartheid, colonial and other forms of oppression and foreign domination stand condemned and must be eliminated.
Note the second sentence. It is a political statement of its period, and it is part of the principle.
Principle 2. The natural resources of the earth, including the air, water, land, flora and fauna and especially representative samples of natural ecosystems, must be safeguarded for the benefit of present and future generations through careful planning or management, as appropriate.
Group two: conservation
- Principle 3: the capacity of the earth to produce vital renewable resources must be maintained and, wherever practicable, restored or improved.
- Principle 4: a special responsibility to safeguard and manage wildlife and its habitat, which are now gravely imperilled by adverse factors; nature conservation must receive importance in planning for economic development.
- Principle 5: non-renewable resources must be employed so as to guard against their future exhaustion and to ensure that benefits from such employment are shared by all mankind.
- Principle 6: discharge of toxic substances or of other substances, and release of heat, in quantities or concentrations exceeding the environment's capacity to render them harmless, must be halted.
- Principle 7: States shall take all possible steps to prevent pollution of the seas by substances liable to create hazards to human health, harm living resources and marine life, damage amenities or interfere with other legitimate uses of the sea.
Principle 7 is the ancestor of Part XII of the Law of the Sea Convention and should be cited in a marine question.
Group three: the development bargain
Principles 8 to 12, set out in the previous chapter. Development is essential; underdevelopment causes environmental deficiency; environmental policies must not impair development potential; resources must be made available taking account of developing countries' requirements.
Principle 13 adds integrated planning, and Principles 14 to 17 deal with rational planning to resolve conflicts, demographic policies, and the entrusting of environmental management to appropriate national institutions.
The Stockholm Declaration, Principle by Principle
Group four: science, information and education
- Principle 18: science and technology must be applied to identify, avoid and control environmental risks and to solve environmental problems for the common good of mankind.
- Principle 19: education in environmental matters, for the younger generation and for adults.
- Principle 20: scientific research and development must be promoted in all countries, and the free flow of up-to-date scientific information and transfer of experience must be supported and assisted, to facilitate the solution of environmental problems, environmental technologies being made available to developing countries on terms that encourage wide dissemination without constituting an economic burden.
Group five: the two that made law
Principle 21. States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental policies, and the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.
Two halves, worked in the chapter on permanent sovereignty. This is the principle that became custom, restated as Rio Principle 2 with the words "and developmental" added after "environmental", and stated by the International Court of Justice in the nuclear weapons advisory opinion to be part of the corpus of international law relating to the environment.
Principle 22. States shall cooperate to develop further the international law regarding liability and compensation for the victims of pollution and other environmental damage caused by activities within the jurisdiction or control of such States to areas beyond their jurisdiction.
Fifty years on there is no general liability regime. The Basel Liability Protocol 1999 is not in force. Article 235, paragraph 3, of the Law of the Sea Convention repeats the commitment. This is the most useful principle in the Declaration for a critical answer, because it is a promise the international community made to itself and has not kept.
Group six: cooperation
- Principle 23: criteria and minimum levels must be determined, and it will be essential to consider the systems of values prevailing in each country and the extent of the applicability of standards which are valid for the most advanced countries but may be inappropriate and of unwarranted social cost for developing countries.
- Principle 24: international matters concerning the protection and improvement of the environment should be handled in a cooperative spirit by all countries, on an equal footing, and cooperation is essential to control, prevent, reduce and eliminate adverse environmental effects, in such a way that the sovereignty and interests of all States are taken into account.
- Principle 25: States shall ensure that international organisations play a coordinated, efficient and dynamic role.
- Principle 26: man and his environment must be spared the effects of nuclear weapons and all other means of mass destruction, and States must strive to reach prompt agreement on their elimination and complete destruction.
The Stockholm Declaration, Principle by Principle
Principle 26 is the one to cite in a question about war and the environment, together with the nuclear weapons advisory opinion.
Worked example
Match the principle to the question. This is the whole practical use of the Declaration in an examination.
| MU's question | The principle to cite |
|---|---|
| State responsibility during war | Principle 26 |
| Global market and sovereignty over resources | Principle 21, first half |
| Transboundary pollution | Principle 21, second half |
| Environmental standards for developing nations | Principles 11 and 23 |
| Human rights and environmental degradation | Principle 1 |
| Marine environment | Principle 7 |
| Compliance and enforcement | Principle 22, and its non-performance |
Quick revision
- Twenty-six principles, adopted 16 June 1972.
- Principle 1: the human right, with the anti-colonial second sentence.
- Principle 21: sovereignty plus responsibility. The one that became custom.
- Principle 22: liability and compensation, promised and never delivered.
- Principles 8 to 12 and 23: the development bargain.
- Principle 7 for the sea; Principle 26 for nuclear weapons.
Test yourself
1. Which two Stockholm principles are the most examinable, and why? Principle 21, because it became customary international law and is the foundation of prevention, and Principle 22, because it promised a liability regime that has never been created.
2. What was added when Principle 21 was restated as Rio Principle 2? The words "and developmental", so that States exploit their resources pursuant to their own environmental and developmental policies.
3. Which principle would you cite on nuclear weapons and the environment? Principle 26, that man and his environment must be spared the effects of nuclear weapons and all other means of mass destruction.
The rest of this subject
These notes are cut from the University's printed syllabus. Open the syllabus itself, or the past papers, for the same subject.