The information below provides a very brief introduction to international law. You can also see Wikipedia for an introduction to international environmental law.

International law is the law that exists between countries and governs countries' rights and duties with respect to each other. The main way international law is created is when countries ('States') enter into legally binding conventions, protocols, covenants and other international instruments. These legally binding agreements are commonly referred to as treaties.

At international law, Australia is obliged to comply with any legal binding treaty that it is a party to. Treaties can be bilateral between two countries or multilateral between a number of countries. Countries can also enter into non-binding international agreements with other countries, but these generally set out commonly agreed goals rather than binding obligations.

In Australia, a treaty does not automatically become a part of Australian national or domestic law when Australia ratifies it. To incorporate the treaty obligations into Australian law, the government must enact legislation at Federal or State level.

Many of Australia's obligations to protect its environment come from international law. For example the major Federal environment legislation in Australia, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, brings into Australian law the obligations found in the Convention on Biodiversity and the World Heritage Convention, among others.

International conventions

Details about specific international conventions, treaties and agreements can be found under international instruments in the sources section.

Biodiversity protection

Information on international protection of biodiversity specifically can be found here; International biodiversity law.