Review: International Law and Organization: The International Law of Pollution
| Date | 01 December 1974 |
| Published date | 01 December 1974 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070207402900416 |
| Author | Patrick Kyba |
| Subject Matter | Review |
REVIEWS/ INTERNATIONAL
LAW
AND
ORGANIZATION
661
INTERNATIONAL
LAW
AND
ORGANIZATION
THE
INTERNATIONAL
LAW OF
POLLUTION
James
Barros
and
Douglas
M.
Johnston
New
York:
Free
Press;
London:
Collier
Macmillan,
1974,
xviii, 476pp,
$14.95
It
is
a
rare
book
indeed
that
lives
up
to its
publisher's
panegyric.
This
is
such
a
book.
There
has
long
been
a
need for
a
collection
of
ma-
terials
on
this
subject,
and
this
volume
fills
that
need.
To
date,
most
of
the
literature
on
international
environmental
affairs
has
been
of
the
'doomsday'
variety,
and
little
attempt
has
been
made
to move
from
the
problem-identification
to the
problem-solving
stage.
This
book
is
a
step
in
that
direction
for
it
is
a
comprehensive
survey
of
international
environmental
law
as
it
exists
today.
The
editors
have
identified
virtually
every
pollution
problem
of
global
importance
and
have
brought
together
the
agreements
intended
to
treat
them.
They
have
included
selected
multilateral
and
bilateral
agreements
and
uni-
lateral
acts
as
examples
of
the
different
types
of
approach
to
such
problems.
They
have
provided valuable
introductions to
each
section
which
discuss
the
major
problems
in
international
law
hindering
agreement,
and
they have
prepared
useful
guides
to
further
reading
in
each
area.
The
book
is
not without
faults. For
example,
the editors
depend
excessively
and
needlessly
on
Canada
and
the
United
States
for
their
source
material;
they
exclude
some
important
agreements
such
as
the
environmental
programme
of
the
European
Community; and
their
first
section
-
the
Pollution
Problem
in
Science,
Law,
and
Policy
-
though
important
in
itself,
is
extraneous
to
this book
and
adds
little
of
value
to
it.
Nevertheless,
such
criticisms
are
minor
and
do
not
detract
from
the
fact
that
this
book
is
a
most
welcome
collection
of
information
on the
subject.
The
book
that
must
now
be
written
is
one
which
uses
this
infor-
mation
as
a
basis
for
an
assessment
of
international
environmental
law.
To
attain
and
preserve
a
felicitous
global
environment
it
is
of
vital
importance
to
know
the
gaps
in existing
law,
the
utility
of
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