Papers presented at the National Consultation Critiquing the Current Judicial Trends on Environment Law, held at Delhi during 23-24 February 2008.

This discerning book examines the challenges, opportunities and solutions for courts adjudicating on environmental cases. It offers a critical analysis of the practice and judgments of courts from various representative and influential jurisdictions.

"This handbook is intended to enable national judges in all types of tribunals in both civil law and common law jurisdictions to identify environmental issues coming before them and to be aware of the range of options available to them in interpreting and applying the law. It seeks to provide judges with a practical guide to basic environmental issues that are likely to arise in litigation. It includes information on international and comparative environmental law and references to relevant cases."--P. iii.

Modern environmental regulation and its complex intersection with international law has led many jurisdictions to develop environmental courts or tribunals. Strikingly, the list of jurisdictions that have chosen to do this include numerous developing countries, including Bangladesh, Kenya and Malawi. Indeed, it seems that developing nations have taken the task of capacity-building in environmental law more seriously than many developed nations. Environmental Justice in India explores the genesis, operation and effectiveness of the Indian National Green Tribunal (NGT). The book has four key objectives. First, to examine the importance of access to justice in environmental matters promoting sustainability and good governance Second, to provide an analytical and critical account of the judicial structures that offer access to environmental justice in India. Third, to analyse the establishment, working practice and effectiveness of the NGT in advancing a distinctively Indian green jurisprudence. Finally, to present and review the success and external challenges faced and overcome by the NGT resulting in growing usage and public respect for the NGT’s commitment to environmental protection and the welfare of the most affected people. Providing an informative analysis of a growing judicial development in India, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental justice, environmental law, development studies and sustainable development.

Reflecting a global trend, scores of countries have affirmed that their citizens are entitled to healthy air, water, and land and that their constitution should guarantee certain environmental rights. This book examines the increasing recognition that the environment is a proper subject for protection in constitutional texts and for vindication by constitutional courts. This phenomenon, which the authors call environmental constitutionalism, represents the confluence of constitutional law, international law, human rights, and environmental law. National apex and constitutional courts are exhibiting a growing interest in environmental rights, and as courts become more aware of what their peers are doing, this momentum is likely to increase. This book explains why such provisions came into being, how they are expressed, and the extent to which they have been, and might be, enforced judicially. It is a singular resource for evaluating the content of and hope for constitutional environmental rights.

"The National Environmental Policy Act has grown more, not less, important in the decades since its enactment. No one knows more about NEPA than Lynton Caldwell. And no one has a clearer vision of its relevance to our future. Highly recommended." —David W. Orr, Oberlin College What has been achieved since the National Environmental Policy Act was passed in 1969? This book points out where and how NEPA has affected national environmental policy and where and why its intent has been frustrated. The roles of Congress, the President, and the courts in the implementation of NEPA are analyzed. Professor Caldwell also looks at the conflicted state of public opinion regarding the environment and conjectures as to what must be done in order to develop a coherent and sustained policy.

An in-depth look at the trouble with shareholder value thinking and at better options for models of corporate purpose. Executives, investors, and the business press routinely chant the mantra that corporations are required to “maximize shareholder value.” In this pathbreaking book, renowned corporate expert Lynn Stout debunks the myth that corporate law mandates shareholder primacy. Stout shows how shareholder value thinking endangers not only investors but the rest of us as well, leading managers to focus myopically on short-term earnings; discouraging investment and innovation; harming employees, customers, and communities; and causing companies to indulge in reckless, sociopathic, and irresponsible behaviors. And she looks at new models of corporate purpose that better serve the needs of investors, corporations, and society. “A must-read for managers, directors, and policymakers interested in getting America back in the business of creating real value for the long term.” —Constance E. Bagley, professor, Yale School of Management; president, Academy of Legal Studies in Business; and author of Managers and the Legal Environment and Winning Legally “A compelling call for radically changing the way business is done... The Shareholder Value Myth powerfully demonstrates both the dangers of the shareholder value rule and the falseness of its alleged legal necessity.” —Joel Bakan, professor, The University of British Columbia, and author of the book and film The Corporation “Lynn Stout has a keen mind, a sharp pen, and an unbending sense of fearlessness. Her book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the root causes of the current financial calamity.” —Jack Willoughby, senior editor, Barron’s “Lynn Stout offers a new vision of good corporate governance that serves investors, firms, and the American economy.” —Judy Samuelson, executive director, Business and Society Program, The Aspen Institute