The Paper Tiger Awakens: North American Environmental Law After the Cozumel Reef Case

This Article examines the citizen submission process created under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation ( NAAEC ), which, along with the North American Free Trade Agreement ( NAFTA ), was adopted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States in 1993. The Article details the historical evolution of North American environmental law and diplomacy in the hundred years prior to the adoption of NAAEC. It proceeds to analyze the environmental provisions of NAAEC and the citizen submissions that have been filed since NAAEC went into effect, and undertakes an in-depth case study of the citizen submission relating to coral reefs in Cozumel, Mexico. The Article then compares the enforcement record of NAAEC with the enforcement record of NAFTA, and argues that the legal status of North American environmental law needs to be strengthened so that it is equal to that of North American trade law