Abstract: Through historical analysis, literature analysis and case comparison, the paper comprehensively assesses Convention on Biological Diversity as an international environmental law by looking into the evolution of its system, norm and connotation in the past 20 years. The Convention has 3 main goals: the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the use of genetic resources. Since the Convention was established and came into force, Conference of the Parties has never stopped discussing how to set down effective laws to enhance its implementation. While the Convention is deemed as increasingly important, however, the contracting parties are only required to submit national reports rather than enforced to fulfill Convention obligations by the socalled compliance mechanism.

Key words: international environmental law, system and norm, Convention on Biological Diversity, Convention obligations