The Global Economy, the Sustainable Development Goals & the Law: Online International Legal Symposium on 15 July 2022
After an opening chaired by Prof Em. Thomas Cottier of the World Trade Institute and Prof Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger of CISDL, University of Cambridge and University of Waterloo, with good wishes from representatives of key partner institutions including Prof Richard Janda of McGill University, Prof Neil Craik of the University of Waterloo, Prof Konstantia Koutouki of the International Law Association and the University of Montreal, Douglas Leys QC of the Green Climate Fund and Prof Christina Voigt of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law, we deeply appreciated the first plenary session on Linking Investment & Climate Change through International Law, chaired by Prof Markus Gehring of the University of Cambridge and Adv Ayman Cherkaoui of CISDL, with a brilliant keynote by Prof Jim Bacchus of the University of Florida, and an inspiring dialogue with world-class experts and intervenors. Further plenary sessions on Governing Trade, Natural Resources Management & Bioeconomy Development, chaired by Prof. Jorge Cabrera of the University of Costa Rica, CISDL and Prof. Ilaria Espa of the Universita della Svizerra Italiana, CISDL with an outstanding keynote by Dr Balakrishna Pisupati of UNEP and on Aligning Pandemic Recovery Financing with the Sustainable Development Goals, Human Rights & the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, chaired by Prof. Nico Schrijver of Leiden University and Prof. Maya Prabhu of Yale University, CISDL with excellent keynotes by Adv. Wayne Garnons-Williams, of the International Inter-Tribal Trade & Investment Organization and Hon. Justice Prof. Marcel Szabo of the Constitutional Court of Hungary each benefiting from fascinating dialogues with renowned experts and intervenors, provided a rich substantive engagement during the symposium.
We are especially grateful to the two eminent international speakers who contributed the 2022 Hon Judge CD Gonthier lectures, Sir Christopher Greenwood, Master of Magdalene College, University of Cambridge and Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization after being introduced by Dean Prof. Robert Leckey of McGill University, Hon. Judge Sebastien Grammond of the Federal Court of Canada and Hon. Justice Mahmud Jamal of Supreme Court of Canada by video-address in the high-level session.
We were also deeply delighted to announce and celebrate, together with Prof. Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, Hon. Justice Marcel Szabo and Prof. Romesh Weeramantry of the Weeramantry International Memorial Commission, the distinguished recipients of the Weeramantry International Justice Award of 2022:
– Hon Justice Antonio Benjamin (Brazil)
– UN Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Secretary, Elizabeth Maruma Mrema (Tanzania) and
– Prof. Dr. Nicolaas Jan Schrijver (Netherlands)
The symposium closed with an experts roundtable, chaired by Prof. Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger of CISDL, University of Cambridge and University of Waterloo & Dr. Ashfaq Khalfan of the CISDL Board of Governors and Oxfam USA to share the findings from the experts plenaries, followed by an inspiring keynote from Prof David Boyd of UBC, the UN Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, and kind thanks from Jasen Erbeznik of the McGill Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Adv Tejas Rao of the CISDL and the Cambridge International Law Journal Blog.
Please find below a playlist of the event.
In addition, please find below some recommended resources by the 2022 Gonthier Lecturers, the chairs, expert plenary speakers and intervenors:
- Sir Christopher Greenwood, The Role of the International Court of Justice in the Global Community(2010).
- Sir Christopher Greenwood, Three Challenges to International Law (2018).
- Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Funding the SDGs: Licit and Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries(2018).
- Balakrishna Pisupati, Sustaining Sustainable Development (2018).
- David R. Boyd et. al., Levers and leverage points for pathways to sustainability (2020).
- James Bacchus, Trade Links: New Rules for a New World (2022).
- Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, Athena’s Treaties: Crafting Trade & Investment Accords for Sustainable Development (2021).
- Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, Marcel Szabo, Alexandra Harrington (eds.), Intergenerational Justice in Sustainable Development Treaty Implementation: Advancing Future Generations Rights Through National Institutions (2021).
- Nico Schrijver, Development without Destruction: The UN and Global Resource Management (2010).
- Wayne Garnons-Williams et. al., Trade Wars (2021).
