Rights, Integrity, and the Principle of Sustainable Development: Dworkinian Reflections on the Sustainability of International Law
“Rights, Integrity, and the Principle of Sustainable Development: Dworkinian Reflections on the Sustainability of International Law,” in M Morin, M Cordonier Segger, F Gélinas & Markus Gehring, eds, Fraternity, Responsibility and Sustainability in Law (Toronto, Ontario: Lexis Nexis, 2012) 703-722.
24 Pages Posted: 6 Apr 2017
Date Written: April 1, 2012
Abstract
Sustainable development is a contested concept in international law. There is a general consensus on its core features, but disagreement remains as to its nature and status as a principle of international law. Such debates raise fundamental issues in legal theory that can be examined afresh in the light of Ronald Dworkin’s rich body of scholarship. In particular, the notable separate opinions of Justices Weeramantry and Cançado Trindade in cases before the International Court of Justice include various insights regarding the principle of sustainable development and its role in international law that display a number of Dworkinian traits. Both justices adopt conceptions of sustainable development that embrace its role as a foundational legal principle, emphasize its grounding in rights, and insist upon its connection to the moral values of the international community. In the end, these remarkable separate opinions do not simply advance a forward-looking conception of sustainable development, but invite us to adopt a richer, more ambitious, and ultimately more sustainable vision of international law.
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