A companion treaty to NAFTA established the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (“CEC”). The CEC is an international body designed to investigate allegations of environmental violations by the three Parties to the two treaties, which are Canada, Mexico and the United States. The CEC permits “Submissions” by NGO’s, businesses and even private persons to challenge whether Parties are enforcing their environmental laws. This article reviews some of the procedural aspects of these Submissions.

The author (who is a lawyer) wrote this article while studying for his Ph.D. in Public Policy & Political Economy at the University of Texas at Dallas.