Abstract
The issue of extraterritorial eco-protection provides an excellent illustration of unresolved tensions deep-rooted within Community policy and law as regards protecting the environment and the consumer. On the one hand, the EC has predicated itself traditionally on the free market model of consumer welfare, which perceives social progress to be indissolubly linked with open markets characterised by free competitive forces, exemplified by the "single market" ideal. Extraterritorial protective measures represent a considerable challenge to this orthodoxy. They not only question the notion that frictionless interstate trade should be the ultimate trump card, but also dispute the notion that a private individual should only have influence or ownership over concerns about the environment directly related to that person's "home" or "domestic" territory, such as the state of nationality or residence.
Extraterritorial measures imply a post-national vision of politics, a vision which the EC in its current form does not share. However, by virtue of the major changes made to the Treaty of Rome 1957 (EC Treaty) due to the Single European Act 1986 (SEA), the Treaty on European Union 1992 (TEU), and most recently the Treaty of Amsterdam 1997 (ToA), the EC has committed itself to incorporating a strong environmental protection dimension to its traditional core aims related to market integration. These new commitments lend support to ideas and policies enhancing the status of measures designed to prioritise ecological values, including potentially extraterritorial measures on environmental protection.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Bhagwati, J. (1993). Trade and the environment: The false conflict? In: D. Zaelke, P. Orbuch, & R. F. Housman (Eds.), Trade and the environment: Law, economics and policy, pp. 159-190. Washington, DC: Island Press.
Chalmers, D. (1994). Environmental protection and the Single Market: An unsustainable development. Does the EC Treaty need a Title on the Environment? Legal Issues in European Integration, 1(1), 65-98.
Demiray, D. A. (1994). The movement of goods in a green market. Legal Issues in European Integration, 1(1), 73-110.
Esty, D. C., & Geradin, D. (1997). Market access, competitiveness, and harmonization: Environmental protection in regional trade agreements. Harvard Environmental Law Review, 21, 265-336.
Esty, D. C., & Geradin, D. (1998). Environmental protection and international competitiveness-A conceptual framework. Journal of World Trade Law, 32(3), 5-46.
Hedemann-Robinson, M. (1997). EC Law, the environment and consumers: Addressing the challenge of incorporating an environmental protection dimension to consumer protection at Community level. Journal of Consumer Policy, 20, 1-43.
Jackson, J. (1993). World trade rules and environmental policies: Congruence or conflict? In: D. Zaelke, P. Orbuch, & R. F. Housman (Eds.), Trade and the environment: Law, economics and policy, pp. 219-235. Washington, DC: Island Press.
Kleftodimou, L. (1995). Protecting the consumer under GATT. Consumer Law Journal, 3, 174-187.
Krämer, L. (1993a). Environmental protection and Article 30 EEC. Common Market Law Review, 30, 111-143.
Krämer, L. (1993b). European Environmental Law Casebook. London: Sweet & Maxwell.
Krämer, L. (1995). EC Treaty and Environmental Law. 2nd ed. London: Sweet & Maxwell.
Krämer, L. (1998). EC Treaty and Environmental Law. 3rd ed. London: Sweet & Maxwell.
Micklitz, H.-W. (2000). International regulation on health, safety and the environment-Trends and challenges. Journal of Consumer Policy, 23, 7-28.
Moltke, K. von (1993). A European perspective on trade and the environment. In: D. Zaelke, P. Orbuch, & R. F. Housman (Eds.), Trade and the environment: Law, economics and policy, pp. 93-108. Washington, DC: Island Press.
Petersmann, E.-U. (1994). The dispute settlement system of the WTO and the evolution of the GATT dispute settlement system since 1948. Common Market Law Review, 31, 1157-1244.
Sands, P. (1994). GATT and sustainable development: Lessons from the international legal order. Trade and the Environment, (94) 1551, 27-30.
Scott, J. (1995). The GATT and Community Law. In: J. Shaw & G. More (Eds.), New legal dynamics of the European Union, pp. 147-164. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Smith, S. C. (1994). How law hides risk. In: G. Teubner, L. Farmer, & D. Murphy (Eds.), Environmental law and ecological responsibility-The concept and practice of ecological self-organisation, pp. 117-144. Chichester: Wiley & Sons.
Wathen, T. (1993). A guide to trade and the environment. In: D. Zaelke, P. Orbuch, & R. F. Housman (Eds.), Trade and the environment: Law, economics and policy, pp. 3-21. Washington, DC: Island Press.
Wils, W. (1994). Subsidiarity and EC environmental policy: Taking people's concerns seriously. Journal of Environmental Law, 6, 85-91.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hedemann-Robinson, M. Defending the Consumer's Right to a Clean Environment in the Face of Globalisation. The Case of Extraterritorial Environmental Protection Under European Community Law. Journal of Consumer Policy 23, 25–61 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006383517212
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006383517212