ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: AN APPRAISAL OF STATE RESPONSIBILITY UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW

Abstract

Sovereignty, as a principle of international law, connotes both rights and responsibilities. Environmental protection is a responsibility of states and has been so recognized under customary international law, which leaves states without the right of pre-emption. An environmental performance index, conducted in 2022, however, indicate that many states, including Nigeria, have been paying lip-service to environmental protection. This paper aims at appraising international instruments and principles that promote the protection of the environment. Its objective is to evaluate the response of the Nigerian government towards its responsibility to the environment and ultimately the people. The paper adopted the doctrinal methodology that enabled the writer do an in-depth critical analysis of the extant international legal instruments and principles. The paper found that state parties who were committed to their obligations under international law performed better in the recent performance index and the reverse is the case for poor performing countries. Following the findings, the paper concluded that the lack of sanction for non-compliance with treaty obligations is the major reason for default by nation states rand recommended that treaty obligations be made mandatory to state parties, at the risk of sanctions. It also recommended that individuals whose rights are violated by the non-compliance of their states be empowered to seek legal redress to enforce compliance by their states.