Sustainable Development Law

This book analyses recent developments in international sustainable development law (ISDL), a field emerging at the intersection between international economic, environmental, and social law. Hundreds of new bi-lateral, regional, and global treaties have been negotiated in the areas of trade,environment, and development over the past two decades, yet most of them face profound problems in implementation. At the same time, disputes over human rights, environmental protection, and economic development are increasingly common. This book provides a long-awaited coherent approach which canaddress conflicts and overlaps between international economic, environmental, and social law. It surveys the international law related to sustainable development; discussing proposed principles, offering case studies that examine innovative aspects of key international instruments, and reflecting onfuture legal research agendas. Part I (Foundations) surveys the origins of the concept of sustainable development, identifying and discussing the foundations of its legal aspects. It also analyses the main results of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. Part II (Principles) examines the emerging principles ofinternational law related to sustainable development, based on the International Law Association's New Delhi Declaration. Part III (Practices) provides case studies of legal instruments and regimes that integrate economic, social, and environmental aspects, illustrating the challenges and innovativemethodologies of recent years. Part IV (Prospects) proposes cutting-edge research agendas in six priority areas of intersection between international social, economic, and environmental law, and examines the new international architecture of sustainable development governance in light of theoutcomes of the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development.Sustainable Development Law is a guide, resource, and reference for scholars, policy-makers, negotiators, and practitioners, and provides students of social, economic, and environmental law with a coherent introduction to the newly emerging law of international sustainable development.

This timely book provides an accessible insight into how the concept of sustainable development can be made operational through its translation into legal terms. Understood as a multidimensional legal principle, sustainable development facilitates coherent international law making. Using this notion as an analytical lens on the WTO Agreement on Agriculture, the book considers the unresolved question of what a sustainable and coherent agricultural trade agreement could look like.

International Sustainable Development Law is a component of Encyclopedia of Development and Economic Sciences in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The Theme on International Sustainable Development Law reflects on the rights and duties of states and other actors in the development process. The chapters range from International Development Law standard applications of economic theory to more radical approaches. These three volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College Students Educators, Professional Practitioners, Research Personnel and Policy Analysts, Managers, and Decision Makers, NGOs and GOs.

Also available as an e-book In a relatively short time the concept of “sustainable development” has become firmly established in the field of international law. The World Commission on Environment and Development concisely defined sustainable development as follows: “development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. This definition takes into account the needs of both the present and future generations as well as the capacity of the earth and its natural resources which by clear implication should not be depleted by a small group of people (in industrialized countries). The aim of this book is threefold : to review the genesis and to clarify the meaning of the concept of sustainable development, as well as to assess its status within public international law. Furthermore, it examines the legal principles that have emerged in the pursuit of sustainable development. Lastly, it assesses to what extent the actual evolution of law demonstrates the balance and integration with all pertinent fields of international law as urged by the Rio, Johannesburg, and World Summit documents. This is the second volume in the Hague Academy of International Law Pocket Book series; it contains the text of the course given at the Hague Academy by Professor Schrijver.

Publisher Description

Schrijver (Vrije U., Amsterdam) and Weiss (U. of Amsterdam) have both served on committees of the International Law Association (ILA).

This book addresses legal aspects of sustainable development and offers the latest thinking on a wide range of current themes. By taking a cross-cutting approach, it adds considerably to the exploration of this emerging scientific field. Twenty-nine original contributions present innovative thoughts and replicable ideas from this exciting, new area, which will be of value to practitioners and researchers alike.These contributions are allocated into a horizontal and sectorial part. The section covering horizontal policies has five sub-parts: 1) general aspects; 2) human and intellectual property rights; 3) communication and social enterprise governance; 4) public participation and 5) assessment tools. The second part on sectorial policies also has five sub-parts: 1) forest and water management; 2) renewable energy; 3) cities, waste and material management; 4) biodiversity, nature conservation, oceans and spatial planning and 5) agriculture and rural policy. It offers a multifaceted discussion of sustainable development and law by authors from five continents and from both the public and the private sectors. This selection guarantees a broad view that presents the more theoretical arguments from the academic as well as the practical perspective. Furthermore, the authorship includes senior, highly experienced academics and practitioners as well as those at the start of their career. This ensures thoughtful expansions of established theories as well as the emergence of innovative ideas. Moreover, the ten sub-parts bring together likeminded thoughts, resulting in an exchange of different viewpoints on a similar theme. This allows the readers to concentrate on individual chapters, while at the same time discovering a variety of thoughts and ideas.

It is now generally accepted that sustainable development has become a central objective of the international community. This text examines the politics and history of the term, before moving on to analyse relevant principles of international law in this context.