The international law of environmental impact assessment : process, substance and integration / Neil Craik.

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Part I. Introduction: Introduction and overview -- Part II. Background Norms: Domestic origins of International EIA commitments -- EIAs and general principles of international environmental law -- Part III. EIA Commitments in International Law -- Sources of international EIA commitments -- The structure of international EIA commitments -- Part IV. The Role of EIA Commitments in International Law -- EIAs and compliance -- EIAs, interests and legitimacy -- Part V. Conclusion: EIAs and the process and substance of international environmental law.

The central idea animating environmental impact assessment (EIA) is that decisions affecting the environment should be made through a comprehensive evaluation of predicted impacts. Notwithstanding their evaluative mandate, EIA processes do not impose specific environmental standards, but rely on the creation of open, participatory and information rich decision-making settings to bring about environmentally benign outcomes. In light of this tension between process and substance, Neil Craik assesses whether EIA, as a method of implementing international environmental law, is a sound policy strategy, and how international EIA commitments structure transnational interactions in order to influence decisions affecting the international environment. Through a comprehensive description of international EIA commitments and their implementation with domestic and transnational governance structures, and drawing on specific examples of transnational EIA processes, the author examines how international EIA commitments can facilitate interest coordination, and provide opportunities for persuasion and for the internalisation of international environmental norms.