Geography and Regional Planning

Geography and Regional Planning

Regional interactions and conflicts in multi-level international environmental proceedings and pluralism at different levels of justice administration

Authors
Alireza Mohammadalizadeh
Farid Azadbakht
Masoud Ghasemi
Department of Law, Ker.C., Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah, Iran.
10.22034/jgeoq.2025.555466.4354
Abstract
In recent years, with the increase in global environmental challenges, traditional approaches to environmental management have not been able to respond well to these issues. In this regard, the concept of multilevel environmental litigation has been proposed as a new approach to decision-making and implementation of environmental policies. This system includes complex interactions that are established between international, regional, national and local levels and provides the necessary capacity for greater coordination, flexibility and participation of different stakeholders. The aim of this research is to examine the interactions and conflicts existing in the international multilevel environmental litigation system and to identify the challenges arising from the plurality at different levels of litigation with an emphasis on the implementation of environmental justice. This research seeks to answer the question: How can the existing conflicts at the levels of environmental decision-making and institutional plurality affect the implementation of environmental justice? The main hypothesis of the research is that the existence of multiple levels of litigation without proper coordination leads to weakness in the implementation of environmental justice and exacerbates inequalities in the distribution of environmental benefits and burdens. Using a descriptive-analytical method and utilizing qualitative data available in scientific, international sources and case studies, this research analyzes the current state of multi-level environmental litigation and shows that the lack of coordination between international, regional and national institutions, in addition to creating conflicts in policies, prevents the achievement of a fair system in environmental management.
Keywords
Multilevel litigation
litigation conflicts
institutional pluralism
environmental justice
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