YEREVAN, Armenia – On May 21, the Professional Development Program in International Environmental Law held its inaugural session at the American University of Armenia (AUA), marking the launch of the country’s first program of its kind. The program is offered through the joint efforts of AUA, Yerevan State University (YSU), and the Armenian International Law Association.
From a highly competitive pool of over 80 applicants, 27 were selected to participate in the session. “We were pleasantly surprised with the large level of interest in the topic,” said Davit Khachatryan, coordinator of the program at the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment. The selected participants included legal practitioners, civil servants, policymakers, businesses, academics, and civil society representatives. “A key aim of the program is to cultivate such a diverse and multi-disciplinary network of professionals in the country interested in engaging on environmental law issues,” added Khachatryan.
The first lecture was by Mariam Ghazaryan (LL.M. ’19) and Khachatryan, leading the discussion on the foundations of public international law and the core principles of international environmental law. Participants learned that international environmental law encompasses the full body of binding and non-binding international instruments, addressing the protection of the natural environment, from multilateral treaties and conventions to soft law measures, such as, declarations, UN resolutions, guidelines, and more. Conversely, soft law instruments are not formally binding, since they carry significant normative weight and have historically served as the incubators from which binding obligations later emerge.
Out of this body of hard and soft law, the session identified a set of core principles that give international environmental law its underlying architecture. Among them are the sovereignty of states over natural resources and the corresponding no-harm obligation, the principles of prevention and precaution, the polluter pays principle, common but differentiated responsibilities, sustainable development, and the growing convergence between human rights and environmental protection.
The session was marked by a meaningful discussion among the participants, where they discussed practical scenarios, drawing on real geopolitical tensions around industrial pollution and transboundary harm, responsibilities of states to their citizens, working through competing principles, and available legal mechanisms.
The program is set to continue with eleven additional sessions through October 2026, covering global atmosphere and air quality, biodiversity and ecosystems, water and transboundary relations, environmental justice, international environmental diplomacy, treaty compliance, dispute resolution, business and nature, and environmental crime. Sessions are held alternatively at AUA and YSU.
For additional information, visit the program website.
The AUA Acopian Center for the Environment, a research center of the American University of Armenia (AUA), promotes the protection and restoration of the natural environment through research, education, and community outreach. The AUA Acopian Center’s focus areas include sustainable natural resource management, biodiversity protection and conservation, greening the built environment, sustainable energy, as well as information technology and the environment. Visit http://ace.aua.am.
Additional coverage of the Professional Development Program in International Environmental Law:
AUA, YSU, and AILA Sign MoU (Feb 20, 2026)
Applications Open for Armenia’s First Professional Development Program in International Environmental Law (April 1, 2026)
Շրջակա միջավայրի միջազգային իրավունքի զարգացման առաջին ծրագիրը (16 ապրիլ, 2026)
Armenia’s first International Environmental Law course ahead of COP17 (April 16, 2026)