International environmental law

There have been many legally-binding international agreements concerning the protection of the environment, but in this area of international law soft law[?] is more common than normal.

Some basic principles of international environmental law are:

• the precautionary principle
• the polluter pays principle[?]
• the principle of sustaintable development[?]

Important cases have included the various nuclear test cases (New Zealand vs. France) before the International Court of Justice.