Objective evaluation of environmental law

An assessment of the performance of a legal instrument is an ‘evaluation’. A credible evaluation should be objective and evidence-based, requiring the application of a sound evaluation method. When applied to environmental policy and law, the focus is (1) whether relevant organisations, processes and instruments achieve the desired policy goals without substantial perverse effects (policy effectiveness), (2) whether they do so without wasting resources or social opportunities (efficiency), and (3) whether the costs and benefits are shared equitably (fairness). This chapter describes such a method, and provides examples of its application both across jurisdictions and within a jurisdiction.