In 2022, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), will release a follow up to its groundbreaking 2019 Environmental Rule of Law Report. This report will be the second global assessment on the environmental rule of laws and will draw upon analysis from all 193 United Nations Member States. It will provide a data-informed assessment of the current status and global trends of the environmental rule of laws, as well as good practices in their implementation and the impact on COVID-19. It will expand on the initial report, which found that, despite the growth of environmental laws and agencies all over the globe, there were still weaknesses in implementation, compliance, and enforcement, which was exacerbating the environmental threats.
This report was produced by us through a huge research project that involved researching questions and answering them related to each UN Member state’s environmental law. UNEP valued the fact that UNEP’s legal research partner was based in the jurisdictions being investigated. This allowed them to understand the nuances and know who to contact to fill in any gaps left from initial research. Surprisingly, only 16 of the 193 states required external assistance. This was because we had the language skills, knowledge, and ability to deal with the rest.
White & Case had a compelling reason to engage them for this project, stated Andy Raine, Senior Legal Officer at UNEP and Head of the International Environmental Law Unit. It has a footprint across all the regions we needed to analyze and we were confident that the product we would receive would be high-quality and accurate.
White & Case was able to provide a compelling reason for the project. It has a presence in all the regions that we needed to analyze. We were confident that we would get a high-quality product.
Andy Raine
Senior Legal Officer and Head, UNEP’s International Environmental Law Unit
The questions were broken down into four themes, each one corresponded to a UNEP chapter. These were law and institutions; civic engagement and rights; and justice. Our Environmental Interest Group lawyers worked with UNEP and the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice to create a set indicators to ensure that the report was as objective as possible before data collection began. The report will use indicators, which are new, to extrapolate, summarize, and communicate key trends as well as track and track changes over the time. After the research was completed, we provided additional methodological input to ensure that the indicators and questions were consistent interpreted and that the results provided a meaningful, accurate dataset.
The research was conducted by 260 White & Case lawyers, as well as legal team members from 35 offices. To validate the work, our people also answered the 22 indicator questions. They also provided summaries from their research for each question. Their work was sent to UNEP’s academic partners who will analyze and interpret it to produce the findings for 2022 Environmental Rule of Law Report. The report will provide an overview of how countries and regions perform against the indicators. It will also identify gaps that need to addressed and strengths that could be built upon.
The UNEP’s mandate to promote environmental law development and implementation among Member States will be fulfilled by the UNEP’s report. It will help UN partners and programs set priorities to achieve this goal.
As the research progressed, it became clear that different lawyers could interpret and use the indicators differently depending on what was happening in the states. Michelle Keen, White & Case’s Melbourne partner, said that this really brought out the diversity in cultures and experience. These interpretations and opinions helped strengthen the research, which was then followed by discussions and a deeper understanding of the law.
Thuy Finch (and Michael McArdle), both associates at our Melbourne office, saw the UNEP project as an opportunity to increase their environmental law experience and pro bono experience. They also had the chance to meet people from around the world and to work with them, especially since trainee and other legal rotations were halted by the pandemic. Thuy stated that people jumped at the chance to participate in this project. The partners also helped to mobilize their teams. As a new associate in a large, international commercial firm, I was struck by how committed White & Case is to pro bono White & Case and how passionate its employees are about the environment.
Photo by Andy Mann Bespoke Reps
Norway Walruses
