Stockholm Declaration on Human Environment, 1972

In one minute

The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment met at Stockholm from 5 to 16 June 1972. It adopted the Stockholm Declaration with 26 Principles, an Action Plan with 109 recommendations, and led to the creation of UNEP.

The Declaration is not a treaty. It is soft law. Yet it is the starting point of modern international environmental law, and it is named in two Indian Acts.

Legal provision

• Principle 21: In accordance with the UN Charter and the principles of international law, States have the sovereign right to exploit their own resources under their own environmental policies. They have the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not damage the environment of other States or of areas beyond national jurisdiction.
• Principle 22: States shall cooperate to develop the international law on liability and compensation for victims of pollution.
• Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, preamble: records decisions taken at the Stockholm conference of June 1972, in which India participated.
• Those decisions were to preserve the quality of air and control air pollution.
• Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, preamble: records the same Stockholm decisions on protection and improvement of the human environment and the need to implement them.

Meaning and definition

The Stockholm Declaration is the statement of shared principles adopted at the Stockholm conference. It has a preamble and 26 numbered Principles. As a declaration, it states aims and standards without creating legal duties by itself. It is an example of soft law, which guides conduct without binding.

Detailed explanation

Step 1: why the conference was held

Before 1972, environmental harm was dealt with one dispute at a time, as in the Trail Smelter case. There was no global framework. The United Nations called a conference so that States could agree on common principles and on a body to carry the work forward.

Step 2: what the conference produced

Three results matter for exams.

• The Stockholm Declaration, with a preamble and 26 Principles.
• An Action Plan for the Human Environment, with 109 recommendations for national and international action.
• A recommendation for a standing UN body, which became UNEP when the General Assembly acted by resolution on 15 December 1972.

Step 3: Principle 21 and the no-harm rule

Principle 21 sets two things side by side. A State may use its own resources as it chooses. It must also see that its activities do not harm other States. This is the no-harm principle in a global text. The Trail Smelter tribunal had stated the same idea for fumes in 1938 and 1941.

Step 4: Principle 22 and liability

The delegates admitted that the law on liability and compensation for pollution victims was underdeveloped. Principle 22 asks States to cooperate to develop it. Later treaties on specific hazards have taken this work forward.

Step 5: the link to Indian law

India took part in the conference. The preambles of the Air Act, 1981 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 both refer to the Stockholm decisions. The Environment (Protection) Act says it is considered necessary to implement those decisions in so far as they relate to protection and improvement of the environment.

Step 6: the lasting tension

The Stockholm debate brought out a tension that continues. Developed countries pressed for environmental limits. Developing countries worried that limits would block their growth. Later instruments, such as the Rio and Johannesburg texts, try to balance environment and development.

Don't confuse: Declaration, Action Plan and UNEP

Output	What it is	Binding?
Stockholm Declaration	Preamble and 26 Principles	No, soft law
Action Plan	109 recommendations for action	No, recommendations
UNEP	UN body set up by General Assembly resolution of 15 December 1972	An institution, not a rule

Common mistakes

• Calling the Stockholm Declaration a binding treaty.
• Mixing up the Declaration (26 Principles), the Action Plan (109 recommendations) and UNEP.
• Saying Stockholm produced the Ramsar Convention. Ramsar was signed in 1971.
• Giving the wrong date for UNEP. It was created by a resolution of 15 December 1972, not at the conference.

Leading case laws

• Trail Smelter Arbitration (United States v. Canada)

  Facts. Fumes from a Canadian smelter damaged land across the border in Washington State.

  Principle. No State may use its territory to cause serious injury to another State.

  Why it matters. Principle 21 of Stockholm carries the same idea into a global text.

• Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v. Union of India

  Facts. Tanneries in Tamil Nadu polluted the Palar river area.

  Principle. The Court traced the history of sustainable development from Stockholm to Rio and held it to be part of customary international law.

  Why it matters. It shows Stockholm ideas working in Indian law.

How to write this answer in the exam

Key points to remember

• Stockholm, 5 to 16 June 1972: preamble and 26 Principles.
• Action Plan: 109 recommendations.
• UNEP: General Assembly resolution of 15 December 1972.
• Principle 21: sovereign right to use resources, with responsibility not to harm others.
• Soft law, but named in the Air Act and the Environment (Protection) Act.

Quick self-test

Related topics

• The role of UNEP for the protection of environment
• Nairobi Declaration, 1982
• Transboundary Pollution