Research Agenda
The CISDL Sustainable Trade, Investment & Competition Law Research Programme aims to support and enhance present efforts to better integrate economic law principles with environmental and developmental decision making by states, corporations, civil society and IGOs. The area of sustainable economic law, particularly in relation to developing countries, is gaining growing attention. While WTO trade law alone, with over 20,000 pages of legal text, is not very accessible to the broader public, especially in the details and the specific provisions, sustainable development considerations do need to be much better taken into account. Much existing work on this subject lacks specificity and this programme aims to fill this gap by clarifying the state of current law, but also by proposing better means of implementation at the national, sub-regional, regional and international level.
- How does trade, investment and competition law relate to regional and international development law?
- What are the primary obligations for states at the national and international level to address trade and environment concerns, and what of trade and other economic development priorities?
- How are these to be realised?
- What are the legal tools and can these questions be answered in an integrated manner?
- What are the implications of trade, investment and competition for related fields of human rights, development and environmental law?
- How can corporations and inter-governmental organisations complement and assist these efforts and implement their own obligations?
Many states, inter-governmental organisations, corporations and civil society organisations are beginning to address the implications of economic law for sustainable development at the national, regional and international level. This programme aims to support such efforts by clarifying the nature of obligations, offering solutions and case studies and integrating this research in the context of international sustainable development law.
Research Areas
1. Sustainable Development & Regional Integration Agreements
The CISDL completed its work to investigate the rules and practices of impact assessments of trade agreements in the Americas, and complemented the Americas Eco-Health Impact Assessment Law project which, supported by the IDRC, focused on new laws and techniques for impact assessment of large investment projects in the Americas. This project involved several of the CISDL’s programmes, including Trade, Investment and Finance.
2. Sustainable Global Trade, Investment, and Financial Law
In 2011, the CISDL conducted an International Legal Seminar on Sustainable Development in World Investment Law at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law of the University of Cambridge, to launch the new book, Sustainable Development in World Investment Law, with Kluwer Law International Global Trade and Finance Series, and to discuss the future legal research agenda in this field. Funding proposals were submitted to several research bodies, and CISDL Legal Research Fellow Andrew Newcombe, also led a review of the OECD declaration on Harnessing Investment for Green Growth. The next CISDL project in this series will focus on Sustainable Development in World Financial Law.
3. CISDL / IDLO Sustainable Development in Project Finance Transactions Manual
The manual, finalised and launched in May 2008, explains the concept and principles of sustainable development, its utility in international and national law, its relevance to project finance transactions, and practical applications of these principles in project finance transactions. The manual draws from best practice materials, including experience of major international financial institutions in structuring project finance transactions to ensure sustainability. A chapter on Climate Finance was added in 2010. The IDLO remains keen to organise a seminar on the manual and employs it to train developing country government officials.
4. CISDL North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation Index and Cases
In 2010, the CISDL deepened collaboration with the North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation, providing links to North American legal reviewers and researchers, and presenting in several CEC forums. The CISDL also completed the development of an analytical index of the factual reports, for the CEC, and hosted meetings to review it.
5. Trade, Investment and Finance Dialogues & Curriculum
CISDL members had considerable input into several NAFTA Ministerial-level events, including official side-events, which emphasized the link to climate change and low carbon economy. They further make presentations in the CISDL’s Cancun COP 16 events. Members of the Trade, Investment and Finance programme made presentations on similar topics at Cambridge University and the University of Chile. Several members of the Trade, Investment and Finance programme also taught courses at the University of Montreal’s CERIUM courses during the summer of 2010. Members of the Trade, Investment and Finance programme also participated in two SSHRC grants.