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International Trade Policies and Sustainable Environmental Governance in Nigeria: A Legal Appraisal

Onua, C., Halliday, E.C., Chinda, R.G.

Abstract

The intensification of global trade has increasingly positioned international trade law as a key instrument of environmental governance, extending its traditional commercial function to promote sustainability. This article critically examines the legal impact of international trade policies on sustainable environmental governance in Nigeria, whose economy remains heavily dependent on crude oil exports and other primary commodities. Adopting a doctrinal and comparative legal methodology, this evaluation assesses Nigeria's constitutional, statutory, and institutional frameworks in conjunction with multilateral trade agreements, regional trade instruments, and international environmental treaties, drawing comparative insights from the United Kingdom, the United States, and South Africa. The article argues that although Nigeria possesses an extensive legal and institutional framework for environmentally sustainable trade, its effectiveness is undermined by the non-justiciability of environmental obligations under Chapter II of the Constitution, weak regulatory enforcement, institutional fragmentation, and dependence on environmentally intensive exports. It further contends that legal scholarship has largely treated trade liberalisation and environmental protection as separate fields, overlooking the dual role of international trade law in both facilitating and constraining domestic environmental governance. Through doctrinal analysis of legislation, case law, and treaty provisions, supported by comparative institutional evaluation, the article demonstrates that Nigeria's principal challenge lies not in the absence of legal norms but in deficiencies in implementation and enforcement. It recommends constitutional recognition of enforceable environmental rights, integration of sustainability standards into trade and investment legislation, and strengthened regulatory institutions to align Nigeria's trade regime with evolving global environmental governance and sustainability requirements.

Keywords

African Continental Free Trade AreaEnvironmental Law and GovernanceInternational Trade LawSustainable DevelopmentWorld Trade Organization.

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