The principle of state sovereignty over natural resources in international environmental law

The article proves that the principle of state sovereignty over its natural resources has gone from the slogan of decolonization to the norm of international law, deeply woven into the fabric of both the international economy and the international environmental order. Its content is diverse: it is both the legal embodiment of the right to self-determination, and the basis of national economic policy, and at the same time the starting point for the development of obligations to protect the environment. As the analysis has shown, the principle under study remains critically important: no state will agree to participate in international treaties unless it is confident that it will maintain control over its natural resources. At the same time, global problems require the adoption of “supranational” solutions, and here absolute sovereignty turns out to be an obstacle. Modern international environmental law tries to overcome this contradiction by offering the formula “sovereignty + responsibility”: States have the sovereign right to exploit their own natural resources at their discretion, but are responsible for causing damage to other countries. States are gradually agreeing to self-limit their sovereignty for the sake of a common goal, including climate, oceans, the ozone layer, etc. The author notes that the principle studied in the article will continue to evolve in the future, analyzes its ways, including the development of an environmental monitoring system and the protection of environmental rights.

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