The Legal Nature of Environmental Principles in International, EC and German law

Abstract

Much has been said about the semantic content of environmental principles, but there is less clarity about their legal nature. This article shall contribute to the related discussion. I will propose a general concept of principles that can be applied to all levels of the law, national, regional as well as international. I will begin with a short overview of basic propositions called Principles and proceed with an analysis of their legal nature.