The Law(s) of Sustainable Development
Posted: 18 Jun 2008
Abstract
Many of us will have experienced the law, and lawyers, to be both enablers and party spoilers. Enablers, since successful application of the law and the professions which administer it (private counsel, police officers, judges) grant a citizen, a State, a company, a solid title with which to change or maintain one's status in society. Party spoilers, since the same application by someone else, may jeopardise a lucrative, comfortable, safe position. This contribution summarily reviews the law of sustainable development from an international law perspective. Its target audience is distinctly non-legal although those lawyers less involved in international environmental issues (which form a core part of sustainable development) may find it a useful quick guide to this more or less young body of international law.
Keywords: Sustainable development, law, environmental law
JEL Classification: K33, K32
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation