Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Building a Platform for the Future: the Relationship of the Expected New Agreement for Marine Biodiversity in Areas beyond National Jurisdiction and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea

This legal analysis examines the relationship between an expected new international agreement on marine biodiversity and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. While focused on governance rather than microplastics, international frameworks are relevant to regulating plastic pollution in international waters.

2019 Ocean Yearbook Online 41 citations
Article Tier 2

International Water Law’s Role in Addressing the Problem of Marine Plastic Pollution: A Vital Piece in a Complex Puzzle!

This legal analysis examined the role of international water law in addressing marine plastic pollution, arguing that existing water governance frameworks have largely overlooked plastics as a water resource management problem. The author advocates for integrating plastic pollution controls into international water law instruments.

2022 Chinese Journal of Environmental Law 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Challenges for Regulation and Management of Microplastic in Environment and Proposed Changes

This review examines failures in international law and national regulations to adequately address microplastic pollution in water bodies, arguing that recent treaty negotiations have been insufficient and proposing regulatory changes to better manage microplastics in the environment.

2025
Article Tier 2

Legal Approaches to Reduce Plastic Marine Pollution: Challenges and Global Governance

This review examined legal approaches to reducing marine plastic pollution and found that while international frameworks like the International Maritime Organization's MARPOL Annex V and regional agreements provide useful foundations, significant governance gaps and enforcement challenges remain in addressing the global scale of marine plastic contamination.

2021 ANNALS OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND PERSPECTIVE 32 citations
Article Tier 2

International treaties, national laws, and best legal practices for addressing plastic pollution in the oceans

This thesis examines plastic pollution in the world's oceans through the lens of international treaties, national laws, and social dynamics, evaluating the effectiveness of existing legal frameworks and best practices for addressing the growing crisis of marine plastic contamination.

2025
Article Tier 2

The Prospects of an International Treaty on Plastic Pollution

This analysis examines the proposed elements of a legally binding international treaty on plastic pollution, reviewing negotiations launched by the UN Environment Assembly in March 2022 and outlining the key legal and governance challenges in developing a comprehensive global plastics agreement.

2022 The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Combating plastic pollution in international law: lex lata and lex ferenda

This paper examines the current state of international law addressing plastic pollution, analyzing both existing legal frameworks and proposed future regulations. The study highlights that global plastic production has surged to 390 million tons annually with only 9% recycled, underscoring the urgent need for a comprehensive international treaty.

2024 Moscow Journal of International Law 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Dilemma in global governance of marine plastic pollution and regulatory coordination: convention reconstruction via integrated international law

This legal analysis examined fragmented international governance of marine plastic pollution across 17 instruments including UNCLOS, MARPOL, and regional conventions, identifying a gap between soft law priorities and binding enforcement for microplastics. The authors proposed an integrated umbrella convention framework with specialized protocols to align the Global Plastic Treaty with existing agreements and establish enforceable plastic production caps.

2025 Frontiers in Marine Science 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Penanggulangan Pencemaran Sampah Plastik Di Laut Berdasarkan Hukum Internasional

This Indonesian-language paper reviews international law frameworks for addressing marine plastic pollution, noting that approximately 80% of solid marine debris is plastic. The study discusses how international legal instruments can be strengthened to address the management of plastic waste that becomes marine microplastics.

2020 Jurnal IUS Kajian Hukum dan Keadilan 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Humanity is being driven ashore : a juridical and political essay on marine plastic pollution

This essay examines the legal and political dimensions of marine plastic pollution, reviewing international agreements and their limitations in curbing the flow of plastic waste into oceans. It argues that stronger global governance frameworks are needed to protect marine environments from plastic contamination.

2019 Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT)
Article Tier 2

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea - still relevant to protection of the marine environment?

This chapter evaluates whether the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) remains a useful tool for protecting the marine environment, including from plastic pollution. The author argues that UNCLOS has significant gaps when applied to modern pollution threats. Strengthening or supplementing UNCLOS with new agreements may be necessary to address marine plastic pollution effectively.

2023 Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks 1 citations
Article Tier 2

An International Legal Framework for Marine Plastics Pollution

This legal analysis reviews the current international framework for regulating marine plastics and identifies significant gaps and inconsistencies across treaties and agreements. The chapter argues that stronger, more unified global legal instruments are needed to effectively reduce plastic pollution in the world's oceans.

2023 Cambridge University Press eBooks 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Responsibility and Allocation for Environmental Damage Caused by Marine Plastic

Despite its title referencing marine plastic pollution and environmental damage, this paper is primarily a legal analysis of international treaty negotiations over plastic pollution responsibility — not a scientific study of microplastic pollution itself. It examines how national interests and industrial lobbying have stalled the International Plastics Convention and discusses frameworks for allocating environmental liability, and is not directly relevant to microplastic science or human health impacts.

2025 1 citations
Article Tier 2

International Legal Systems in Tackling the Marine Plastic Pollution: A Critical Analysis of UNCLOS and MARPOL

This legal analysis examines how two major international agreements, UNCLOS and MARPOL, address marine plastic pollution and identifies significant gaps in their ability to reduce it. The existing laws lack enforceable requirements for reducing land-based plastic waste and have uneven enforcement of rules for ship-based discharges. The paper proposes strengthening international law to promote a circular economy approach, which matters because marine plastic breaks down into microplastics that enter the seafood supply.

2025 Water 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Global perceptions of plastic pollution: The contours and limits of debate

This review analyzed 39 peer-reviewed studies on public perceptions of plastic pollution, finding that research discourse is narrowly focused on marine impacts and single-use plastics while largely ignoring broader plastic pollution contexts relevant to international treaty negotiations.

2023 Cambridge Prisms Plastics 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Global Plastic Pollution and International Legal and Policy Responses

This Japanese legal review examines international efforts to create a binding treaty to end plastic pollution, analyzing what elements are needed based on experience with prior environmental agreements. The paper is particularly relevant given the ongoing United Nations negotiations toward a global plastics treaty.

2023 Material Cycles and Waste Management Research
Article Tier 2

Building a regime complex for marine plastic pollution

This analysis examines the challenge of designing a strong and widely acceptable international treaty to govern the full lifecycle of plastics, arguing that scholars and researchers have an important role to play alongside diplomats in shaping an effective regime complex for marine plastic pollution. The paper draws on regime theory to identify pathways toward durable governance.

2023 Cambridge Prisms Plastics 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Legal Analysis of the Prevention of Marine Microplastics Pollution

This legal analysis examines international law frameworks governing marine microplastic pollution prevention, identifying obstacles including enforcement difficulties, weak jurisdictional clarity, and insufficient coordination among existing treaty regimes, while noting growing attention to microplastics in UN General Assembly resolutions and calling for stronger multilateral legal mechanisms.

2022 Law and Economy
Article Tier 2

Bibliography

This is a bibliography section from a research handbook on ocean governance and international maritime law. It lists sources covering the legal frameworks relevant to managing ocean pollution including plastics, but contains no original scientific research.

2023 Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks
Article Tier 2

Advancing the international regulation of plastic pollution beyond the United Nations Environment Assembly resolution on marine litter and microplastics

This legal paper reviews international frameworks relevant to plastic pollution and argues for a binding global agreement specifically targeting plastic pollution, beyond existing resolutions. A comprehensive international treaty is increasingly seen as necessary to meaningfully reduce plastic pollution, including microplastics.

2018 Review of European Comparative & International Environmental Law 78 citations
Article Tier 2

Sustentabilidade: Materiais Plásticos, O Great Pacific Garbage Patch E Propostas Sustentáveis No Contexto Da Globalização Contemporânea

This Brazilian Portuguese legal and policy review analyzes international and domestic sustainability proposals around plastic pollution, including the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and European single-use plastic regulations. The author argues that no effective global plastic elimination program is possible without coordinated non-state institutional frameworks and enforcement mechanisms.

2021 Revista Eletrônica Direito e Política
Article Tier 2

Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ Participation Provisions in Negotiations on Conservation of Marine Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction

This paper is not about microplastics; it analyses legal provisions for Indigenous peoples and local communities participation in negotiations for an international agreement on high-seas biodiversity conservation.

2023 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Scientific challenges of plastic pollution treaty

This review examines the scientific challenges surrounding the development of an international legally binding treaty on plastic pollution, as called for by UNEA Resolution 5/14, highlighting gaps in terminology, polymer science knowledge, and cross-disciplinary collaboration needed to address marine plastic waste effectively.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

International Environmental Law and Marine Pollution in the Pacific Islands: Promoting Sustainable Ocean Governance

Not relevant to microplastics — this international law paper reviews strategies for sustainable ocean governance in Pacific Island nations, covering fisheries management, waste policy, and regional cooperation, but does not focus specifically on microplastic contamination.

2023 Law and Economy 1 citations