Incompatibility of Multilateral Treaty Reservations with International Environmental Law

Iain J. MacLeod, Harvard University

Abstract

This paper looks at how the idea of reservations has developed from a guiding principle, through its codification in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT), to its place in customary international law. A subsequent analysis of three selected international environmental treaties explores the reservation provisions to determine if those deposited contradict the object and purpose of their respective convention, with due regard given to Article 19 of the VCLT. Finally, I propose a number of reservation mechanisms that could be used or adapted in order to minimise the negative impact that any reservation to an international environment treaty may have to its effective functioning.