11. Sustainable Development, International Law and China

2012 ◽  
pp. 587-607
Author(s):  
Pia Acconci

This article focuses on the relevance of the ‘green economy' for the promotion of human rights as the base of sustainable development, in light of major trends in international law. In June of this year, at the end of the UN Conference Rio +20 on Sustainable Development, States adopted a document - "The Future We Want" - which refers to the ‘green economy' as an economic model for the future. "The Future We Want" confirms the tendency towards the increasing involvement of private parties in international economic relations. However, complex policy issues concerning the interaction between economic and non-economic interests/concerns have arisen from current trends towards interdependence, liberalization and privatization. Some issues have brought about international disputes which are difficult to be settled, since the applicable principles and rules to the merits are insufficient and fragmented. As disputes owing to conflicts between economic and non-economic interests/concerns constitute a relevant investment and/or trade risk, all States need to promote the rapid settlement and prevention of such disputes. To this end, States and international organisations might increase the level of integration of non-economic concerns into international agreements concerning economic matters and adopt interpretative guidelines and clarifications of the existing rules.


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-99
Author(s):  
Stephanie De Moerloose ◽  
Makane Moïse Mbengue

While judicial bodies have proliferated in the last fifty years in a process that has been deemed “quasi-anarchic” (Guillaume, G., 2000) creating a risk of inconsistency in their decisions which would endanger the international law system, quasi-judicial bodies such as Multilateral Development Banks' accountability mechanisms are not spared by this legal phenomenon. They have diverse proceedings and jurisdictions, operate with different sets of environmental and social safeguards, but may confront similar factual scenarios, especially in the case of co-financing. The recent Kenya Electricity Expansion Project presented before the World Bank and the European Investment Bank’s accountability mechanisms illustrates that, through a managerial approach, potentially conflicting findings can be avoided. This paper aims to show that quasi-judicial bodies can constitute a source of inspiration for the integrated development of international law.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Akramosadat Kia

Nature is one of the most important pillars of human life, which is why the environment has been considered in all historical periods. At first, contemporary international law seeks to protect the environment as part of international environmental law, but the inadequacy of this protection and the need to protect the environment for Nowadays's human beings and future generations, the link between the environment and human rights It was considered because legal protection of human rights could be a means to protect the environment. Hence, in the context of the third generation of human rights, a new right called "the right to the environment" was created in international human rights instruments, in which the environment was raised as a human right. This right is not only a reminder of the solidarity rights that are categorized in the third generation of human rights, but also necessary for the realization of many human rights, civil, political or economic, social and cultural rights. However, the exercise of this right requires a level of development which in turn provides for a greater degree of environmental degradation. Hence, the international community since the nineties has promoted the idea of sustainable development at all levels of national, regional and the international has put it on its agenda.


Author(s):  
Ильмира Минигулова

Global problems of modern age make deep problems for the formation of socio-economic and political-legal stability in modern states. The most complex is poverty that provokes the new problems, such as the migration crisis. The international community follows the fundamental principles and norms of international law, tries to wipe out poverty, the practical implementation of this activity is reflected in the Concept of Sustainable Development.


Author(s):  
McCaffrey Stephen C

This chapter looks at the obligation not to cause significant pollution to other states sharing freshwater resources, and of the emerging obligation to protect the ecosystems of international watercourses. While problems of water pollution have perhaps received more attention in the literature, it seems probable that the protection of watercourse ecosystems is of wider significance, in terms of geography, meeting basic human needs, and sustainable development. Sustainable development was endorsed at the 1992 Earth Summit as the proper approach to reconciling economic development with protection of the environment. It aims at ensuring that economic development will not exhaust the very resources on which it, and human welfare itself, depend. Clean water and healthy aquatic ecosystems are cornerstones of this effort. International law has now progressed to the point that it protects those values.


2000 ◽  
Vol 42 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 241-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Marchiso

The need is being increasingly felt within the international community for more careful consideration of the legal and institutional aspects involved in the use and management of water resources. Existing legal regimes, both national and international, may have no provisions for regulating or controlling new needs for sustainable management of waters. Innovative legal frameworks for water must thus be designed to both facilitate and achieve efficient allocation or reallocation of resources for environmental protection and proceed towards the attainment of social, economic and more general sustainable development goals. The no-harm rule, the equitable apportionment principle and the duty of consultation and negotiation among riparian or sharing States are now integrated by rules and standards pertaining to the new branch of international law on sustainable development: the duty of co-operation, the precautionary principle, the prevention rule, the polluter-pays principle, the environmental impact assessment requirement, which are gaining relevance also in the context of international water resources law, as shown by the 1997 New York Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses. Sustainable water management also implies widespread adoption of good governance principles that ensure broader participation in development decisions and an open decision-making process. In developing and using water resources, priority has to be given to the satisfaction of the basic right to water. This paper intends to identify an effective legal international regime for management of water resources, compliant with sustainable development principles solemnly asserted within international law.


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