The Role Of International Environmental Conventions In Shaping Domestic Environmental Law: A Critical Analysis With Special Reference To India

Abstract

Environmental problems have never fitted neatly within political boundaries. Pollution can cross borders through air and water, hazardous waste can be transported from one country to another, and greenhouse gas emissions affect the global climate irrespective of where they originate. International environmental conventions have consequently become an important part of environmental governance. Their influence, however, does not end with international negotiations. The more interesting legal question is what happens when these commitments enter domestic legal systems. This article examines how international environmental conventions have shaped Indian environmental law, with particular attention to the Stockholm Conference of 1972, the Rio Declaration of 1992, major environmental conventions and protocols, and the development of Indian environmental legislation and judicial principles. It argues that the influence of international environmental law in India has operated through three principal routes: legislative implementation, constitutional interpretation and judicial development of environmental principles. At the same time, international commitments do not automatically become enforceable domestic law. The gap between international promises and domestic implementation remains a significant limitation. The Indian experience therefore shows that the real legal impact of an environmental convention is determined not simply by ratification, but by what the State subsequently does with the obligation.