Publisher Description

International Law and Sustainable Development: Past Achievements and Future Challenges is a collection of essays that cover some of the most important contemporary issues in contemporary law relating to sustainable development, the utilization of natural resources, and the protection of theenvironment. Written by well-known experts on these topics who include judges of the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea; legal advisers from international organizations such as the World Bank, the International Maritime Organization, and the Food andAgriculture Organization; and practitioners of international law, as well as some of the leading scholars writing on international environmental law and related subjects this book covers many of the major legal developments that have taken place since the United Nations Conference on EnvironmentalDevelopment held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.The contributors bring new perspectives on sustainable development as a legal principle, the role of the International Law Commission in codifying international environmental law, the protection of the marine environment following the entry into force of the 1982 UN Convention of the Law of the Sea,and the revolution in international fisheries law. The editors have ensured that the book covers a wide range of topics from Antarctica to small whales and the book will be of particular interest to those teaching or practising law of the sea and international environmental law.

Implementing the goal of sustainable development has long been heralded as the means by which the needs of both present and future generations can be met. However, finding a long-term balance between economic, social and environmental interests, the basic tenet of sustainable development, has proved largely illusive in practice. This book shows that while a number of legal frameworks to help promote the goal of sustainable development have been proposed at the international level they fail to fully capture the essence of sustainable development and international law's capacity to support its implementation. The book offers a critical analysis of past attempts to develop legal frameworks for promoting sustainable development at the international level, and advocates for a fresh approach based on lessons learnt from the law of international watercourses. The book is divided into four sections. The first section includes an overview of the topic area and an understanding of international law. In section two the book explores the meaning of sustainable development and considers the term's relationship with international law. A detailed analysis of how the law of international watercourses seeks to reconcile competing economic, social and environmental interests is carried out in section three. The book concludes with a section advocating the need for a fresh approach to international law and sustainable development and offering the foundations for this approach based on lessons learnt from the law of international watercourses.

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.

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.

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