ABSTRACT
20 21That the record of implementation of MEAs has been and remains far from satisfactory should be of little surprise given the limits of international law’s reach in relation to enforcement matters. As mentioned in the introduction, power to regulate over implementation matters remains in principle a national competence in the absence of states agreeing to vest supervisory authority in an independent entity at international level. Whilst over many years international law has recognised and developed ways and means for states to assert their territorial integrity or international treaty rights against one another, it has not been structured so as to be readily capable of supervising adherence to international environmental obligations independently of statal interference or influence.
