Browsing by Author "Scholtz, Werner"
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Item Addressing climate change through international human rights law: From (extra) territoriality to common concern of humankind(Cambridge University Press, 2022) Bellinkx, Vincent; Casalin, Deborah; Scholtz, WernerInternational human rights law (IHRL) offers potential responses to the consequences of climate change. However, the focus of IHRL on territorial jurisdiction and the causation-based allocation of obligations does not match the global nature of climate change impacts and their indirect causation. The primary aim of this article is to respond to the jurisdictional challenge of IHRL in the context of climate change, including its indirect, slow-onset consequences such as climate change migration. It does so by suggesting a departure from(extra)territoriality and an embrace of global international cooperation obligations in IHRL.Item Agenda 2030: A South African perspective on the sustainable development goals(University of Western Cape, 2020) Ceaser, Cheslyn Craig; Scholtz, WernerEnvironmental degradation and the impacts on sustained life for all on Earth has become a global concern. Climate change illustrates one of the Anthropocene affects on continued life for both human and non-humans. The global recognition of the importance of addressing climate change in light of Sustainable development has been well noted in international instruments inter alia the Kyoto Protocol, The Rio Declaration and the Paris Agreement. In recognizing the importance of continued sustainable development on Earth, various soft law goals were adopted.Item The Bill of Rights as the cornerstone of environmental justice in South Africa : an analysis of section 24(University of the Western Cape, 2015) Dheka, Lawrence; Scholtz, WernerItem The environment and the Sustainable Development Goals: ‘We are on a road to nowhere(Edward Elgar, 2018) Scholtz, Werner; Barnard, MichelleThe 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) collectively embody the global stance on the economic, social and environmental actions needed to achieve sustainable development. With reference to the environmental component of the SDG framework, one sees that four distinct Goals pertaining to different elements of planet earth, namely: the atmosphere (SDG 13), water resource – both fresh (SDG 6) and marine (SDG 14), as well as biodiversity (SDG 15) are included. The deconstruction of the environment in this way is strongly criticized by some as a step back from the single Millennium Development Goal (MDG) dealing with environmental sustainability (MDG 7) contained in the Millennium Declaration, 2000. The current approach to achieving sustainable development is now fragmented along the lines of the above-mentioned silo-ist division. Another point of criticism against the SDGs framework is the lack of explicit reference to international legal instruments pertaining to individual SDGs. This general critique is to some extent also true of the specific environmental SDGs where we see little cross-referencing to international environmental law that could provide a more solid legal base for the enforcement of the SDGs – which are legally non-binding. It is, however, possible to read in implicit references to a number of international environmental law instruments when analysing the wording of the Targets which underpin the individual environmental SDGs. In this chapter the legal nature of the SDGs, the fragmentation of the environment and the potential role of binding international law in solidifying the legal nature of the 2030 Agenda will be discussed in order to answer the question we pose in the title: the environment and the SDGs – are we on a road to nowhere?Item Equity(Oxford University Press, 2021) Scholtz, WernerThis chapter critically analyses the notion of equity in international environmental law. It begins by discussing the meaning of equity in international law and briefly reflecting on familiar examples of the manifestation of equity in international environmental law treaties. The prominence of intergenerational and intra-generational equity in international environmental law warrants a subsequent critical analysis of the content, legal status, and relationship between these forms of equity. This discussion indicates that although the two components of equity may prima facie be in conflict, they constitute important complementary aspects of sustainable development. The chapter then calls for the progressive development of aspects of intra-generational and intergenerational equity that may have profound consequences for international environmental law.Item Injecting compassion into international wildlife law: from conservation to protection?(Cambridge University Press, 2017) Scholtz, WernerInternational wildlife law is concerned with the conservation of sentient species, but generally ignores the welfare of individual animals. It therefore does not reflect a recognition of the moral worth of animals and perpetuates the dichotomy between conservation and welfare. It is the primary goal of this article to ascertain how welfare concerns may be incorporated into international wildlife law in order to ensure that it takes cognizance of the moral worth of animals. The article advocates an injection of ethics, via a welfare-centric approach, into wildlife law in order to escape the dichotomy between conservation and welfare in relation to wild animals, and so to advance the progressive development of law that is conducive to wildlife protection rather than merely to its conservation.Item The reconciliation of transnational economic, social and cultural human rights via the common interest(VerLoren Van Themaat Centre, 2012) Scholtz, WernerIn general, human rights obligations are restricted to states' actions within their own territory in relation to their own citizens and residents. However, article 55(c) of the Charter of the United Nations refers to the promotion of 'universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion', while article 56 affirms that '[a]ll Members pledge themselves to take joint and separate action, in cooperation with the Organisation, for the achievement of the purposes set forth in article 55'. Thus, states must promote human rights both individually and jointly. Furthermore, the Vienna Declaration affirms that the promotion and protection of human rights is a legitimate concern of the international community. Therefore, the implementation of human rights is clearly not a purely domestic matter. This is also evident from the horizontal operation of human rights between states as it is actually states which are the principal addressees of international human rights law. Inter-state complaint procedures are used to 'act in the common interest of protecting human rights'. Furthermore, jurisprudence, international treaties, soft law, and customary international law provide examples of a progressive development of the extension of the scope of human rights obligations beyond state borders. In particular, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), has interesting provisions which reveal that the 'existence of extraterritorial obligations in relationship to international cooperation and assistance based on specific provisions of the Covenant [is] clear'.