Paolo Davide Farah
Paolo Davide Farah is Full Professor (with tenure) at West Virginia University, John D. Rockefeller IV School of Policy and Politics, Department of Public Administration, having joined the faculty in 2014.
Farah is also an “Internationally Renowned Professor/Distinguished Professor of Law” (Full Professor level) at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), Law School, Beijing, China. He is President and Director of gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (www.glawcal.org.uk).
Professor Farah is teaching and conducting research in public policy and public administration, democratic context of public administration, legal and political foundations, international law, climate change, international trade, business and human rights, social justice, sustainable development, energy and environmental law and policy. Farah is an expert in the interaction among trade, economic globalization and non-trade concerns, such as sustainable development, energy, environment and human rights.
He has taught various classes at different institutions on public international law, international economic law and WTO law, European Law, Comparative law, and Chinese law in Italy (2003-2011), in the UK as Senior Lecturer in Law – Associate Professor (2012-2014), USA and China as Visiting Professor (since 2008).
Farah acts as Editor-in-Chief for the Book Series “Transnational Law and Governance” and the Book Series of “Global Law and Sustainable Development” (in English) published by Routledge (New York/London) and the Book Series Studies on Globalization published by Wolters Kluwer (CEDAM) for Books in Italian, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and other non-English languages.
He was a Visiting Scholar (2011–2012) at Harvard Law School, East Asian Legal Studies Program. As Scientific Director, since 2006, he has been coordinating the Summer Law Institute in China – Executive Education Training Program (www.summerlawinstitute.com) held in China. He was an International Consultant and Legal Advisor for projects implemented for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), for the Italian Ministry of Economic Development and Commerce and for the OECD. He has previously worked at the Legal Affairs Division of the World Trade Organization in Geneva and was an Associate Lawyer of Baker & McKenzie Law Firm, Milan, Italy.
Since 2018, Farah has been an elected Board Member of the European Society of International Law (ESIL) and since 2016 he has been the Chair of the ESIL Interest Group on International Environmental Law (elected for an additional term until 2024). He is also the Chair of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) Interest Group on International Environmental Law and the Vice-Chair of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) Interest Group on International Law and Technology. From 2017 to 2020, he was Chair for the ASIL Interest Group on Intellectual Property Law.
Since 2014, Professor Farah has been an Appointed Member of the International Law Association – ILA Committees on Sustainable Development and the Green Economy in International Trade Law and ILA Committee on Role of International Law in Sustainable Natural Resource Management for Development.
Professor Farah’ work has appeared or is forthcoming, among others, in such journals as the Journal of International Economic Law (Oxford University Press), Journal of World Energy Law and Business (Oxford University Press), Journal of World Trade (Kluwer Law International), Legal Issues of Economic Integration (Kluwer Law International), European Energy and Environmental Law Review (Kluwer Law International), Oregon Law Review, Georgetown International Environmental law Review, Columbia Journal of Asian Law, Brooklyn Journal of International Law.
Farah speaks, reads and writes: Italian (native), English (fluent), French (fluent) and Chinese (fair).
For further information, please visit the following blogs, websites and social networks at:
SSRN Author’s Page: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=629289
Academia: https://wvu.academia.edu/PaoloDavideFarah
Research- Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Paolo_Farah?ev=hdr_xprf
Personal Blog: http://paolofarah.wordpress.com
Publications: http://paolofarah.wordpress.com/list-of-publications
Twitter: @PaoloDFarah
gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development: http://www.glawcal.org.uk
Twitter: @gLAWcal
Summer Law Institute in China: http://summerlawinstitute.com/
Twitter: @SLI_China!
Address: Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
Farah is also an “Internationally Renowned Professor/Distinguished Professor of Law” (Full Professor level) at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), Law School, Beijing, China. He is President and Director of gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (www.glawcal.org.uk).
Professor Farah is teaching and conducting research in public policy and public administration, democratic context of public administration, legal and political foundations, international law, climate change, international trade, business and human rights, social justice, sustainable development, energy and environmental law and policy. Farah is an expert in the interaction among trade, economic globalization and non-trade concerns, such as sustainable development, energy, environment and human rights.
He has taught various classes at different institutions on public international law, international economic law and WTO law, European Law, Comparative law, and Chinese law in Italy (2003-2011), in the UK as Senior Lecturer in Law – Associate Professor (2012-2014), USA and China as Visiting Professor (since 2008).
Farah acts as Editor-in-Chief for the Book Series “Transnational Law and Governance” and the Book Series of “Global Law and Sustainable Development” (in English) published by Routledge (New York/London) and the Book Series Studies on Globalization published by Wolters Kluwer (CEDAM) for Books in Italian, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and other non-English languages.
He was a Visiting Scholar (2011–2012) at Harvard Law School, East Asian Legal Studies Program. As Scientific Director, since 2006, he has been coordinating the Summer Law Institute in China – Executive Education Training Program (www.summerlawinstitute.com) held in China. He was an International Consultant and Legal Advisor for projects implemented for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), for the Italian Ministry of Economic Development and Commerce and for the OECD. He has previously worked at the Legal Affairs Division of the World Trade Organization in Geneva and was an Associate Lawyer of Baker & McKenzie Law Firm, Milan, Italy.
Since 2018, Farah has been an elected Board Member of the European Society of International Law (ESIL) and since 2016 he has been the Chair of the ESIL Interest Group on International Environmental Law (elected for an additional term until 2024). He is also the Chair of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) Interest Group on International Environmental Law and the Vice-Chair of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) Interest Group on International Law and Technology. From 2017 to 2020, he was Chair for the ASIL Interest Group on Intellectual Property Law.
Since 2014, Professor Farah has been an Appointed Member of the International Law Association – ILA Committees on Sustainable Development and the Green Economy in International Trade Law and ILA Committee on Role of International Law in Sustainable Natural Resource Management for Development.
Professor Farah’ work has appeared or is forthcoming, among others, in such journals as the Journal of International Economic Law (Oxford University Press), Journal of World Energy Law and Business (Oxford University Press), Journal of World Trade (Kluwer Law International), Legal Issues of Economic Integration (Kluwer Law International), European Energy and Environmental Law Review (Kluwer Law International), Oregon Law Review, Georgetown International Environmental law Review, Columbia Journal of Asian Law, Brooklyn Journal of International Law.
Farah speaks, reads and writes: Italian (native), English (fluent), French (fluent) and Chinese (fair).
For further information, please visit the following blogs, websites and social networks at:
SSRN Author’s Page: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=629289
Academia: https://wvu.academia.edu/PaoloDavideFarah
Research- Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Paolo_Farah?ev=hdr_xprf
Personal Blog: http://paolofarah.wordpress.com
Publications: http://paolofarah.wordpress.com/list-of-publications
Twitter: @PaoloDFarah
gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development: http://www.glawcal.org.uk
Twitter: @gLAWcal
Summer Law Institute in China: http://summerlawinstitute.com/
Twitter: @SLI_China!
Address: Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
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Books by Paolo Davide Farah
Keywords: Science, Society, Technology, Policy, Law, Information-Based Society, Post-Truth Era, International Law, Truth, Justice, Opinions, Society, Natural Sciences, Things, Facts, Justice, Social Environment, Human Activities, COVID-19, Epistemology, Technoscience, ChatGPT, Artificial Intelligence
Multilateralism has served as a foundation for international cooperation over the past several decades. Championed after the Second World War by the United States and Western Europe, it expanded into a broader global system of governance with the end of the Cold War. Lately, an increasing number of States appear to be disappointed with the existing multilateral arrangements, both at the level of norms and that of institutions. The great powers see unilateral and bilateral strategies, which maximize their political leverage rather than diluting it in multilateral fora, as more effective ways for controlling the course of international affairs.
The signs of the crisis have been visible for some time – but recent crises indicate an acceleration of the on-going disintegration of the multilateral system, such as Brexit, growing resistance on the part of States to international monitoring of compliance and the radical change in the US foreign policy during the presidency of Donald Trump which saw the US withdraw from several multilateral agreements (e.g. the Iran Nuclear Deal and the Paris Agreement), leave some international organizations or bodies (e.g. the United Nations Human Rights Council or the World Health Organization) or paralyze some others (e.g. the World Trade Organization (WTO)).
Tackling the debate surrounding the crisis of multilateralism and the related transformation of the underlying international legal order, The Crisis of Multilateral Legal Order analyzes selected aspects of the current crisis from the perspective of public international law to identify the nature of the crisis, its dynamics, and implications.
THE FULL FILE IS AVAILABLE AT: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4235717
Entire Book Available in Open Access:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4354355
This volume examines the impact of globalization on international environmental law and the implementation of sustainable development in the Global South.
Comprising contributions from lawyers from the Global South or who have experience in the Global South, this volume is organized into three parts, with a thematic inquiry woven through every chapter to ask how law can enable economies that can be sustained, given the limited carrying capacity of the earth. Part I describes and characterizes the status quo of environmental and economic problems in the Global South during the process of globalization. Some of those problems include redistribution of environmental burden on the public through over-reliance on the state in emerging economies and the transition to public-private partnerships, as well as extreme uncontrolled economic expansion. Building on Part I, Part II takes an international perspective by presenting some tools that are in place during the process of globalization that lead to friction and interfaces between developed and developing economies in environmental law. Recognizing the impossibility of a globalized Northern economy, the authors in Part III present some alternatives through framework ideas of human and civil rights, environmental rights, and indigenous persons’ rights, as well as concrete and specific legal tools to strengthen justice and rule of law institutions. The book gives new perspectives to familiar approaches through concrete examples by professional practitioners and theoretical discourse by academic researchers, and can thereby form the basis for changes in practices, as well as further discussions and comparisons.
This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental law, sustainable development, and globalization and international relations, as well as legal professionals and practitioners.
Keywords: Globalization, Global South, Environment, Energy, Sustainable Development, Paris Agreement, Environmental Risks, Litigation Remedies, Governance, Extractive Industries, Mongolia, Nigeria, Uganda, Ethiopia, East Africa, South Africa, India, China, Brazil, European Union, Caribbean Small Islands
Kirk W. Junker and Paolo Davide Farah, GLOBALIZATION, ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH: CHALLENGES FOR IMPLEMENTATION, Routledge Publishing (London/New-York), Routledge Explorations in Environmental Studies, ISBN 9780367749132, November 2021, pp. 348.
Entire Book Available in Open Access:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4354355
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3739196
https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/ethics-and-politics-of-space-for-the-anthropocene-9781839108693.html
Featuring an international, multidisciplinary set of contributors, this thought-provoking book reimagines established narratives of the Anthropocene to allow differences in regions and contexts to be taken seriously, emphasizing the importance of localized and situated knowledge.
Envisaging a narrative of change that renders visible the complex transformations taking place across the globe, this book outlines new and radical ways to address the current environmental crisis in a more sustainable and context-specific manner. It presents empirical studies from various contexts, highlighting the potentiality of non-Western knowledge, concepts and categories as well as recognizing the entanglement of humans with other beings and ecosystems. In particular, it offers critical engagement with the debates around the Anthropocene by challenging the dominant techno-rational agenda that often prevails in socio-political and academic discussions.
This book will be crucial reading for researchers and postgraduate students working in fields from human geography and tourism studies to law, public policy and administration, philosophy, politics and organization studies who are dealing with intersecting issues of environment, sustainability, indigenous rights, space and ethics. It will also be helpful for policymakers and research consultants in leveraging localized solutions to the current ecological crisis.
'Have we run out of time to think and live differently? In this timely, globally relevant text, Valtonen, Rantala and Farah invite us to travel with them on a journey of human-earth relationships in relation to ethics, politics and space. Contributors have collectively produced a critical and provocative text which touches. Beautifully and sensitively written, readers will be inspired to radically question the ways in which we have contributed to capitalism's destruction of our planet. What matters is radically rethinking our being with human and non-human others as a political and ethical intervention.'
– Alison Pullen, Macquarie University, Australia
‘Ethics and Politics of Space for the Anthropocene brings us stories that plumb the depths of both theory and grounded insights from the margins of Europe and the Indian sub-continent. With surprising and novel relations generated, this refreshing mix of voices counters growth-based, techno-oriented business as usual at our current climatic juncture and gives perspectives as well as hopes for an uncertain future of our making.’
– Edward H. Huijbens, Wageningen University, the Netherlands
Keywords: Anthropocene, Environment, Sustainability, Indigenous rights, Space and Ethics, Imaginations, Politics, Law, Public Policy, Public Administration, Technology, Earth, Nature, Human Beings, Peaceful Coexistence, Neo-liberalism
TO DOWNLOAD FRONT AND BACK COVER, TABLE OF CONTENTS, INTRODUCTION OF THE BOOK, FOREWORDS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING LINK:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2876883
To purchase the book, you can refer to the publisher website:
https://www.routledge.com/Chinas-Influence-on-Non-Trade-Concerns-in-International-Economic-Law/Farah-Cima/p/book/9781409448488
This volume examines the range of Non-Trade Concerns (NTCs) that may conflict with international economic rules and proposes ways to protect them within international law and international economic law. Globalization without local concerns can endanger relevant issues such as good governance, human rights, right to water, right to food, social, economic, cultural and environmental rights, labor rights, access to knowledge, public health, social welfare, consumer interests and animal welfare, climate change, energy, environmental protection and sustainable development, product safety, food safety and security. Focusing on China, the book shows the current trends of Chinese law and policy towards international standards. The authors argue that China can play a leading role in this context: not only has China adopted several reforms and new regulations to address NTCs; but it has started to play a very relevant role in international negotiations on NTCs such as climate change, energy, and culture, among others. While China is still considered a developing country, in particular from the NTCs’ point of view, it promises to be a key actor in international law in general and, more specifically, in international economic law in this respect. This volume assesses, taking into consideration its special context, China’s behavior internally and externally to understand its role and influence in shaping NTCs in the context of international economic law.
As part of the gLAWcal - Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (United Kingdom) results and book series, a book was published CHINA’S INFLUENCE ON NON-TRADE CONCERNS IN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAW, Climate Change, Sustainable Development, Protection of Environment, Social, Economic and Cultural Rights, Labour Rights, Public Health, Food and Product Safety, Global Law and Sustainable Development Book Series, Routledge Publishing (London/New-York), September 2016, pp. 1-584
TO DOWNLOAD FRONT AND BACK COVER, TABLE OF CONTENTS, INTRODUCTION OF THE BOOK, FOREWORDS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING LINK:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2876883
To purchase the book, you can refer to the publisher website:
https://www.routledge.com/Chinas-Influence-on-Non-Trade-Concerns-in-International-Economic-Law/Farah-Cima/p/book/9781409448488
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2695701
Abstract:
Energy is a crucial issue for mankind. Especially in modern times, energy has been a factor of economic development and wealth. Today energy is strictly related with the notion of empowerment since energy allows any kind of contemporary life for humans: entertainment, work and protection. Consequently energy security is a top priority for national policies all over the world. Problems arising from climate change and depletion of natural resources are increasing the competition and collaboration among States around the energy production and supply. Sustainability of energy systems is then intertwined with the theme of security. Designed for scholar of different disciplines, the book encompasses several point of view about the different (although partially converging) approach to energy in European Union and Asian countries, considering the ever closer social and economic relations between Europe and Asia.
The work also incorporates the state of affair at the transnational stage that originates from the international legal framework, mainly trade law, environmental law and investment law.
Even through rapid changes about the political choices in the turmoil of the international arena, we believe that relations between Europe and Asia and the long term strategy on energy can be understood through the lens of three themes: the global demand and the policy questions; the level of trade under the international regulation of environment; and the role of innovation for the sustainability of energy systems. These three themes are developed in the three corresponding parts of the work.
PART I: Energy Resources in Eurasia: Global Demand and Policy Perspectives
Chapter 1. World Energy Resources: Scales and Paradigms
Chapter 2. Energy Trends in Europe and EU External Policy
Chapter 3. The Russian Federation’s Energy Diplomacy and its Influence in the Caucasus and Central Asia
Chapter 4. Indian Energy Policy and the Protection of the Environment at the Federal and State Levels
Chapter 5. China: Energy Policy and Environmental Matters
Chapter 6. Turkey's Energy Dynamics, Regional Politics and Pipelines in the Context of Global Game-Changers
PART II. CONNECTING ENERGY: The Transnational Dimension of Trade and Environmental Law
Chapter 7. Global Energy Governance, International Environmental Law and the Regional Dimension
Chapter 8. Regional Arrangements Tackling Climate Change and Emissions Trading
Chapter 9. Energy Security, Water Resources, Environmental Concerns and Economic Development in Central Asia
Chapter 10. Energy Investments and Environmental Concerns in South-East Asia
PART III. CONNECTING ENERGY: The Transnational Dimension of Sustainability and Innovation
Chapter 11. The Concept of Sustainability and its Consequences for Energy Policy
Chapter 12. Investing in Sustainable Energy under the Energy Charter Treaty
Chapter 13. Innovation in Energy: A Comprehensive Framework
KEYWORDS: Energy, Policy, Law, Innovation. Technology, Knowledge, Europe, Russia, India, China, Asia, Eurasian, Turkey, Environment, Emissions Trading, Central Asia, South-East Asia, Sustainability, Energy Investments, Scales, Paradigms, Governance, Climate Change, Security, Water, Energy Charter Treaty
Book Series / Editor-in-Chief by Paolo Davide Farah
Book proposals can be submitted to research@glawcal.org.uk
Book proposals can be submitted to: research@glawcal.org.uk
Journal Special Issues by Paolo Davide Farah
The entire special issue is available at:
http://www.glawcal.org.uk/journal-special-issues/strategies-to-balance-energy-security-business-trade-and-sustainable-development-selected-case-studies
Paolo Davide FARAH, “Strategies to Balance Energy Security, Business, Trade and Sustainable Development: Selected Case Studies”, JOURNAL OF WORLD ENERGY LAW AND BUSINESS, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, Volume 13, Issue 2, April 2020.
Jean-Yves HEURTEBISE, “Philosophy of Energy and Energy Transition in the Age of the Petro-Anthropocene”, JOURNAL OF WORLD ENERGY LAW AND BUSINESS, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, Volume 13, Issue 2, April 2020.
Anthi KOSKINA, Paolo Davide FARAH and Imad Antoine IBRAHIM, “Trade in Clean Energy Technologies: Sliding from Protection to Protectionism through Obligations for Technology Transfer in Climate Change Law, or Vice Versa?”, JOURNAL OF WORLD ENERGY LAW AND BUSINESS, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, Volume 13, Issue 2, April 2020.
Daria BOKLAN and Olga BELOVA, “Trade in Electricity under WTO and EAEU Law: Compatibility of Two Legal Regimes”,JOURNAL OF WORLD ENERGY LAW AND BUSINESS, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, Volume 13, Issue 2, April 2020.
Alexander Mikhailovich SOLNTSEV, Aslan Khuseinovich ABASHIDZE and Vladimir Mikhailovich FILIPPOV, “Belarusian Ostrovets Nuclear Power Plant: The Challenge of Cross-Border Negotiations to Balance Economic Development and Environmental Protection”, JOURNAL OF WORLD ENERGY LAW AND BUSINESS, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, Volume 13, Issue 2, April 2020.
Barbara JANUSZ-PAWLETTA, “Legal Framework for the Interstate Cooperation on Development and Transport of Fossil Natural Resources of the Caspian Sea”, JOURNAL OF WORLD ENERGY LAW AND BUSINESS, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, Volume 13, Issue 2, April 2020.
Haifeng DENG and Paolo Davide FARAH,“China’s Energy Policies and Strategies for Climate Change and Energy Security”, JOURNAL OF WORLD ENERGY LAW AND BUSINESS, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, Volume 13, Issue 2, April 2020.
Dong YAN, Paolo Davide FARAH, Tivadar ÖTVÖS and Ivana GASKOVA, “Governing the Transboundary Risks of Offshore Methane Hydrate Exploration in the Seabed and Ocean Floor — A Case Study on Existing International Provisions and Chinese Law”, JOURNAL OF WORLD ENERGY LAW AND BUSINESS, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, Volume 13, Issue 2, April 2020.
The entire special issue is available at:
http://www.glawcal.org.uk/journal-special-issues/strategies-to-balance-energy-security-business-trade-and-sustainable-development-selected-case-studies
http://www.glawcal.org.uk/journal-special-issues/sustainable-energy-and-environmental-protection-the-role-of-science-in-society
Edoardo, Bucchignani, Mercogliano Paola, Montesarchio Myriam, and Zollo Alessandra Lucia. Numerical Simulation ofthe Period 1971–2100 over the Mediterranean Area with a Regional Model,Scenario SRES-A1B. Sustainability 9, no. 12 (December 2017): 2192.https://doi.org/10.3390/su9122192.
Heurtebise, J. Sustainability and Ecological Civilization in the Age of Anthropocene: An Epistemological Analysis of the Psychosocial and “Culturalist” Interpretations of Global Environmental Risks. Sustainability 2017, 9(8), 1331; doi:10.3390/su9081331.
Coggiola, N. The Rough Path to the Compensation of Asbestos Damages in China. Sustainability 2017, 9(8), 1431; doi:10.3390/su9081431.
Brombal D. Accuracy of Environmental Monitoring in China: Exploring the Influence of Institutional, Political and Ideological Factors. Sustainability 2017, 9(3), 324; doi:10.3390/su9030324
Ye Li, Lei Bao, Wenxiang Li, Haopeng Deng. Inventory and Policy Reduction Potential of Greenhouse Gas and Pollutant Emissions of Road Transportation Industry in China. Sustainability 2016, 8(12), 1218; doi:10.3390/su8121218
Fernando Dias Simões. Consumer Behavior and Sustainable Development in China: The Role of Behavioral Sciences in Environmental Policymaking. Sustainability 2016, 8(9), 897; doi:10.3390/su8090897
Yu Chen. Conceptual Framework for the Development of an Indicator System for the Assessment of Regional Land Subsidence Disaster Vulnerability. Sustainability 2016, 8(8), 757; doi:10.3390/su8080757
Daniela Szymańska, Aleksandra Lewandowska. Biogas Power Plants in Poland—Structure, Capacity, and Spatial Distribution. Sustainability 2015, 7(12), 16801-16819; doi:10.3390/su71215846
Articles included in this Special issue
1) Editorial Note - Sustainable Energy Investments and National Security: Arbitration and Negotiation Issues
2) Powered by Expertise: Selecting Arbitrators in Energy Disputes
3) How Can a Prospective China-EU BIT Contribute to Sustainable Investment: In Light of the UNCTAD Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development
4) Analysis of the Impact on Sustainable Development by Investment Regulations in the Energy Charter Treaty
5) Offshore Natural Gas Resources in the Eastern Mediterranean in Relations to the European Union: a Legal Perspective through the Lenses of MedReg; 6) China’s Role and Contribution in the Global Governance of Climate Change: Institutional Adjustments for Carbon Tax Introduction, Collection and Management in China
The entire special issue is available at:
http://glawcal.org.uk/index.php/journal-special-issues.html
US Law Review Articles by Paolo Davide Farah
Keywords: international law, intellectual property, sustainability, agriculture, food security, indigenous knowledge, biodiversity, cultural traditions, traditional knowledge, property rights, farmers' rights, farming, sui generis
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4352769
In recent years, climate change litigation has increased but many of these cases have failed to achieve their objective(s) of legally coercing states to combat global warming. Nevertheless, more recent rulings have signaled a shifting momentum in favor of climate activists, gaining significant international attention. Among these rulings are two cases out of the Netherlands and the United States (U.S.) –– Urgenda and Juliana. The former is considered a great success, given the Dutch state’s mandate to meet and increase its greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. The latter is considered a case to build upon, given that the presiding U.S. judge dismissed the case. This article seeks to answer the following question: what lessons may be learned from the success of Urgenda, and the failure of Juliana, for future climate change litigation? The authors highlight two key factors that play vital roles in climate change litigation: the specificity to which the state is coerced to pursue strict environmental regulation and judicial activism affected by the types of demands made by the plaintiffs.
Keywords: Climate Change, Urgenda, Juliana, Litigation, Judicial Activism
THE FULL FILE IS AVAILABLE AT:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4352769
Climate change is a global phenomenon. Therefore, globalization is the necessary hermeneutical horizon to develop an analysis of the metamorphosis climate change could cause at a political, social, and economic level. Within this horizon, this Article shows how the relationship between the concept of the Anthropocene epoch and the request for justice allows for framing a climate-justice and intergenerational equity–focused political interpretation of the effects of climate change. In order to avoid reducing such an interpretation to merely an ideological critique of capitalism, the conception of climate justice needs to be grounded in a rational, ethical model. This Article proposes that the ethics of responsibility, inspired by Hans Jonas’s well-known philosophy, could work as a promising rational foundation for climate justice. The ethics of responsibility also align with the principles established by the study and analysis of the relationships between science, technology, and society.
Keywords: Climate Change, Globalization, Multilateralism, Science, Technology, Society, Ethics, Climate Justice, Principle of Responsibility, Intergenerational Equity
THE FULL ARTICLE IS AVAILABLE AT: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4350886
Public ownership is closely bound to the need of the government to protect and guarantee the well-being of its citizens. Where the market cannot, or does not want to, provide goods and services, the State uses different tools to intervene, influence, and control some aspects of the private sphere of expression of its citizens in the name and interest of the collectivity. Although, in the past century, this behavior was accepted as one of the expressions of the public authority and part of the social contract, this perception has shifted partially in accordance with the wave of privatization programs initiated in the 1980s and the advent of economic neoliberalism. The aim of the present research is to examine and understand how International Economic Law addresses public ownership. This paper is structured as follows. After the introductory remarks, Section II covers the relationship between public ownership and international economic law. Section II expounds the existing and historical regulatory framework on a state’s interference into the market and the more recent impetus to regulate State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in bilateral and regional Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). Section III moves the analysis to China and highlights the challenges to international economic law and WTO Law brought on by Chinese SOEs and the lack of regulation in this context. Lastly, the article analyzes the increase in the use of SOEs to counteract the COVID-19 pandemic and assesses how the relationship between the state and the market will likely change as a result. We argue that in light of the severity of existing global challenges, the “social function” of public ownership and a more proactive role of the State in the economy could enable a more just transition, where the balance between economic development, social values, and a healthy and clean environment will be struck.
Keywords: Public Ownership, World Trade Organization, WTO, International Law, International Economic Law, Business Law, Commercial Law, State-Owned Enterprises, SOEs, China, Free-Trade Agreements, FTAs, Privatization, Global Challenges, Just Transition, COVID-19, Social Function
THE FULL ARTICLE IS AVAILABLE AT THE FOLLOWING LINK: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4318806
If we imagine the proverb “if the mountain won't come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain” as an equation with two variables, information and communication technologies (“ICT”) and public administration, it will not matter which place each one of them will take in the equation. In the present times of digital disruption, fourth industrial revolution, or even Harari’s looming specter of the so-called dataism, they are compelled to meet at some point, even if they prefer to avoid the encounter. Public administration must adapt to the pulse of the time. Public administrations (and elected representatives) around the world are facing more and more challenges posed by artificial intelligence (“AI”), block-chain technologies, big data and algorithms, and cyber-security. Sometimes, these challenges threaten national security. Policymakers recognize the need to update policies and regulations to reflect the impact these new technologies have made in our society. From another perspective, however, these emerging technologies might be useful instruments for public administrators to improve efficiency, considering its services are ultimately beneficial for the general well-being. Ultimately, successful emerging technologies in the public administration space will be able to facilitate the interactions and business of citizens – living human beings, which have (so far at least) different needs than machines, algorithms, and other technological processes. This article sheds light and focuses on the interplay between public administration, block-chain technology, and citizens. We begin by broadly describing emerging technologies in the context of sustainable development. Consequently, we scrutinize the application of block-chain technology in the field of public administration, its potential to enhance citizens' trust in their government, and block-chain's potential to transform the relationship between public administration and citizens. The article follows a recommendation given by scholars doing research on the block-chain technology, who identified the lack of research on the potential of block-chain “to address societal needs.” Considering the field of ICT is inherently international, and their pervasiveness can be seen as a symptom of border-less globalization, excessive liberalism, and lack of global governance, the paper will make use of relevant examples from a variety of countries irrespective of their regional location.
Keywords: Emerging Technologies, Block-chain, Public Administration, Law, Theories, Practice, ICT, Information Communication Technologies, Globalization, Governance, Global, Artificial Intelligence, National Security
The Full article is accessible at the following link: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3610427
At first sight the potential discrepancy between competitive behavior of market participants, trade rules and the basic notion of sustainable development may seem to be of a negligible importance. However, during the interactions of market processes with sustainability goals through various levels of support, provided by public or private entities problems arise, even more so in the light of the commitments of the Paris Agreement, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and corporate social responsibility principles. This Article aims to address the most obvious overlappings between these areas under the coverage of legal provisions regulating the grant of state aid, subsidies and policies related to mutual cooperation of private subjects towards achieving sustainability. The purpose is to draw conclusions regarding the criteria taken into consideration during the evaluation of competition distorting behaviors in case of environmental and sustainable energy state aid, subsidy- and contract-based cooperation and coalitions among private entities.
Keywords: Competition Law, Energy, Sustainable Development, Individualism, Cooperative Partnership, Paris Agreement, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Trade, Market, Corporate Social Responsibility
TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL FILE OF THE ARTICLE PLEASE VISIT THE FOLLOWING LINK: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3227777
China’s accession to the WTO is widely understood as an important step towards greater global market liberalization and integration. However, this step has been also perceived in an ambivalent way. On one hand, the global market liberalization would have never been really completed without participation of such a major player as China. On the other hand, many observers articulated concerns about China’s ability to integrate into the WTO system. In order to tackle the issues of concern, attention was paid mainly to technical issues, which were seen as a precondition for China’s successful integration into the WTO system. For this reason, topics related with market integration, such as e.g. liberalization requirements, as well as topics related with transparency and legal and administrative policies, necessary for securing of just and equitable resolution of commercial and trade disputes, were initially addressed.
Still, in the light of the changing and evolving geopolitical climate, it has become more evident that Non-Trade Concerns (NTCs) might be another multifaceted topic requiring special attention. EU and US, becoming increasingly aware of the fact that competition of economies with different level of development might result not only in job losses in developed countries due to relocation of production, but also to general deterioration of environmental, social and health standards, have accentuated the importance of a global consensus on NTCs and their inclusion into EU and US external policies concerning foreign trade and investment. Civil society from the developed world, in general, is afraid that further liberalization may endanger public policies at different levels: environmental protection and sustainable development, good governance, cultural rights, labor rights, public health, social welfare, national security, food security, access to knowledge, consumer protection, and animal welfare.
On the other hand, coalition consisting of China and other BRICS countries as well as other developing countries gaining more influence in the WTO and other international fora has been able to articulate discontent with measures adopted by developed countries to address NTCs. The clash between interests of developed and developing countries reveals potential unfairness and inconsistencies of the international system, including the international trade system, which needs to undergo a deep reform to integrate the developing countries’ needs.
Many of the measures that developed countries introduce to address NTCs were received by developing countries with suspicion, resistance, and even hostility. Developing countries, including China, doubt the authenticity of such considerations and think they might actually hide protectionist purposes. Additionally, developing countries see these measures as an indirect form of western imperialism whereby they will have no choice but to comply with the social, ethical, and cultural values of the developed states. Nonetheless, not only has China undergone serious reforms and adopted new regulations to address the issue of NTCs, but the country has even begun to play an important role in the international negotiations on NTCs—such as those on climate change, energy, culture, and so on.
However, at the same time it provides an opportunity for China and other developing countries to defend their interests in a constructive dialogue with developed countries and restructure the system in order to find a necessary balance between globalization and sustainable development or to shape it according to their interests.
Keywords: Globalization, WTO, International Economic Law, Trade, Non-Trade Concerns, Good Governance, Human Rights, Right to Water and Food, Social and Economic Rights, Cultural Rights, Labour, Environment, Climate Change, Energy, Intellectual Property, Health, Sustainability
JEL Classification: Q40, Q48, Q50, Q56, Q58, Q34, Q37, Q32, Q23, Q24, Q25, Q27, K33, K32, Q17, Q18
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China is believed to have the world's largest exploitable reserves of shale gas, although several legal, regulatory, environmental, and investment-related issues will likely restrain its exploitation. China's capacity to face these hurdles successfully and produce commercial shale gas will have a crucial impact on the regional gas market and on China’s energy mix, as Beijing strives to decrease reliance on imported oil and coal, and, at the same time, tries to meet growing energy demand and maintain a certain level of resource autonomy. The development of the unconventional natural gas extractive industry will also provide China with further negotiating power to obtain more advantageously priced gas. This article, which adopts a comparative perspective, underlines the trends taken from unconventional fuel development in the United States, emphasizing their potential application to China in light of recently signed production-sharing agreements between qualified foreign investors and China. The wide range of regulatory and enforcement problems in this matter are increased by an extremely limited liberalization of gas prices, lack of technological development, and barriers to market access curbing access to resource extraction for private investors. This article analyzes the legal tools that can play a role in shale gas development while assessing the new legal and fiscal policies that should be crafted or reinforced. It also examines the institutional settings’ fragmentation and conflicts, highlighting how processes and outcomes are indeed path dependent. Moreover, the possibilities of cooperation and coordination (including through U.S.-China common initiatives), and the role of transparency and disclosure of environmental data are assessed. These issues are exacerbated by concerns related to the risk of water pollution deriving from mismanaged drilling and fracturing, absence of adequate predictive evaluation regulatory instruments and industry standards: this entails consequences for social stability and environmental degradation which are inconsistent with the purposes of sustainable development.
Keywords: Shale Gas, Unconventional Fuel, China, U.S.A., Water, Energy, Environmental Protection, Sustainable Development, Comparative Law, Foreign law, Science and Technology, International Law, Transparency, Pricing, Investments, Trade, Production-sharing, Market Access, Taxation, Fiscal Policies, Social
TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL FILE OF THE ARTICLE: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2802157
Keywords: Science, Society, Technology, Policy, Law, Information-Based Society, Post-Truth Era, International Law, Truth, Justice, Opinions, Society, Natural Sciences, Things, Facts, Justice, Social Environment, Human Activities, COVID-19, Epistemology, Technoscience, ChatGPT, Artificial Intelligence
Multilateralism has served as a foundation for international cooperation over the past several decades. Championed after the Second World War by the United States and Western Europe, it expanded into a broader global system of governance with the end of the Cold War. Lately, an increasing number of States appear to be disappointed with the existing multilateral arrangements, both at the level of norms and that of institutions. The great powers see unilateral and bilateral strategies, which maximize their political leverage rather than diluting it in multilateral fora, as more effective ways for controlling the course of international affairs.
The signs of the crisis have been visible for some time – but recent crises indicate an acceleration of the on-going disintegration of the multilateral system, such as Brexit, growing resistance on the part of States to international monitoring of compliance and the radical change in the US foreign policy during the presidency of Donald Trump which saw the US withdraw from several multilateral agreements (e.g. the Iran Nuclear Deal and the Paris Agreement), leave some international organizations or bodies (e.g. the United Nations Human Rights Council or the World Health Organization) or paralyze some others (e.g. the World Trade Organization (WTO)).
Tackling the debate surrounding the crisis of multilateralism and the related transformation of the underlying international legal order, The Crisis of Multilateral Legal Order analyzes selected aspects of the current crisis from the perspective of public international law to identify the nature of the crisis, its dynamics, and implications.
THE FULL FILE IS AVAILABLE AT: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4235717
Entire Book Available in Open Access:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4354355
This volume examines the impact of globalization on international environmental law and the implementation of sustainable development in the Global South.
Comprising contributions from lawyers from the Global South or who have experience in the Global South, this volume is organized into three parts, with a thematic inquiry woven through every chapter to ask how law can enable economies that can be sustained, given the limited carrying capacity of the earth. Part I describes and characterizes the status quo of environmental and economic problems in the Global South during the process of globalization. Some of those problems include redistribution of environmental burden on the public through over-reliance on the state in emerging economies and the transition to public-private partnerships, as well as extreme uncontrolled economic expansion. Building on Part I, Part II takes an international perspective by presenting some tools that are in place during the process of globalization that lead to friction and interfaces between developed and developing economies in environmental law. Recognizing the impossibility of a globalized Northern economy, the authors in Part III present some alternatives through framework ideas of human and civil rights, environmental rights, and indigenous persons’ rights, as well as concrete and specific legal tools to strengthen justice and rule of law institutions. The book gives new perspectives to familiar approaches through concrete examples by professional practitioners and theoretical discourse by academic researchers, and can thereby form the basis for changes in practices, as well as further discussions and comparisons.
This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental law, sustainable development, and globalization and international relations, as well as legal professionals and practitioners.
Keywords: Globalization, Global South, Environment, Energy, Sustainable Development, Paris Agreement, Environmental Risks, Litigation Remedies, Governance, Extractive Industries, Mongolia, Nigeria, Uganda, Ethiopia, East Africa, South Africa, India, China, Brazil, European Union, Caribbean Small Islands
Kirk W. Junker and Paolo Davide Farah, GLOBALIZATION, ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH: CHALLENGES FOR IMPLEMENTATION, Routledge Publishing (London/New-York), Routledge Explorations in Environmental Studies, ISBN 9780367749132, November 2021, pp. 348.
Entire Book Available in Open Access:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4354355
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3739196
https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/ethics-and-politics-of-space-for-the-anthropocene-9781839108693.html
Featuring an international, multidisciplinary set of contributors, this thought-provoking book reimagines established narratives of the Anthropocene to allow differences in regions and contexts to be taken seriously, emphasizing the importance of localized and situated knowledge.
Envisaging a narrative of change that renders visible the complex transformations taking place across the globe, this book outlines new and radical ways to address the current environmental crisis in a more sustainable and context-specific manner. It presents empirical studies from various contexts, highlighting the potentiality of non-Western knowledge, concepts and categories as well as recognizing the entanglement of humans with other beings and ecosystems. In particular, it offers critical engagement with the debates around the Anthropocene by challenging the dominant techno-rational agenda that often prevails in socio-political and academic discussions.
This book will be crucial reading for researchers and postgraduate students working in fields from human geography and tourism studies to law, public policy and administration, philosophy, politics and organization studies who are dealing with intersecting issues of environment, sustainability, indigenous rights, space and ethics. It will also be helpful for policymakers and research consultants in leveraging localized solutions to the current ecological crisis.
'Have we run out of time to think and live differently? In this timely, globally relevant text, Valtonen, Rantala and Farah invite us to travel with them on a journey of human-earth relationships in relation to ethics, politics and space. Contributors have collectively produced a critical and provocative text which touches. Beautifully and sensitively written, readers will be inspired to radically question the ways in which we have contributed to capitalism's destruction of our planet. What matters is radically rethinking our being with human and non-human others as a political and ethical intervention.'
– Alison Pullen, Macquarie University, Australia
‘Ethics and Politics of Space for the Anthropocene brings us stories that plumb the depths of both theory and grounded insights from the margins of Europe and the Indian sub-continent. With surprising and novel relations generated, this refreshing mix of voices counters growth-based, techno-oriented business as usual at our current climatic juncture and gives perspectives as well as hopes for an uncertain future of our making.’
– Edward H. Huijbens, Wageningen University, the Netherlands
Keywords: Anthropocene, Environment, Sustainability, Indigenous rights, Space and Ethics, Imaginations, Politics, Law, Public Policy, Public Administration, Technology, Earth, Nature, Human Beings, Peaceful Coexistence, Neo-liberalism
TO DOWNLOAD FRONT AND BACK COVER, TABLE OF CONTENTS, INTRODUCTION OF THE BOOK, FOREWORDS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING LINK:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2876883
To purchase the book, you can refer to the publisher website:
https://www.routledge.com/Chinas-Influence-on-Non-Trade-Concerns-in-International-Economic-Law/Farah-Cima/p/book/9781409448488
This volume examines the range of Non-Trade Concerns (NTCs) that may conflict with international economic rules and proposes ways to protect them within international law and international economic law. Globalization without local concerns can endanger relevant issues such as good governance, human rights, right to water, right to food, social, economic, cultural and environmental rights, labor rights, access to knowledge, public health, social welfare, consumer interests and animal welfare, climate change, energy, environmental protection and sustainable development, product safety, food safety and security. Focusing on China, the book shows the current trends of Chinese law and policy towards international standards. The authors argue that China can play a leading role in this context: not only has China adopted several reforms and new regulations to address NTCs; but it has started to play a very relevant role in international negotiations on NTCs such as climate change, energy, and culture, among others. While China is still considered a developing country, in particular from the NTCs’ point of view, it promises to be a key actor in international law in general and, more specifically, in international economic law in this respect. This volume assesses, taking into consideration its special context, China’s behavior internally and externally to understand its role and influence in shaping NTCs in the context of international economic law.
As part of the gLAWcal - Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (United Kingdom) results and book series, a book was published CHINA’S INFLUENCE ON NON-TRADE CONCERNS IN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAW, Climate Change, Sustainable Development, Protection of Environment, Social, Economic and Cultural Rights, Labour Rights, Public Health, Food and Product Safety, Global Law and Sustainable Development Book Series, Routledge Publishing (London/New-York), September 2016, pp. 1-584
TO DOWNLOAD FRONT AND BACK COVER, TABLE OF CONTENTS, INTRODUCTION OF THE BOOK, FOREWORDS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING LINK:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2876883
To purchase the book, you can refer to the publisher website:
https://www.routledge.com/Chinas-Influence-on-Non-Trade-Concerns-in-International-Economic-Law/Farah-Cima/p/book/9781409448488
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2695701
Abstract:
Energy is a crucial issue for mankind. Especially in modern times, energy has been a factor of economic development and wealth. Today energy is strictly related with the notion of empowerment since energy allows any kind of contemporary life for humans: entertainment, work and protection. Consequently energy security is a top priority for national policies all over the world. Problems arising from climate change and depletion of natural resources are increasing the competition and collaboration among States around the energy production and supply. Sustainability of energy systems is then intertwined with the theme of security. Designed for scholar of different disciplines, the book encompasses several point of view about the different (although partially converging) approach to energy in European Union and Asian countries, considering the ever closer social and economic relations between Europe and Asia.
The work also incorporates the state of affair at the transnational stage that originates from the international legal framework, mainly trade law, environmental law and investment law.
Even through rapid changes about the political choices in the turmoil of the international arena, we believe that relations between Europe and Asia and the long term strategy on energy can be understood through the lens of three themes: the global demand and the policy questions; the level of trade under the international regulation of environment; and the role of innovation for the sustainability of energy systems. These three themes are developed in the three corresponding parts of the work.
PART I: Energy Resources in Eurasia: Global Demand and Policy Perspectives
Chapter 1. World Energy Resources: Scales and Paradigms
Chapter 2. Energy Trends in Europe and EU External Policy
Chapter 3. The Russian Federation’s Energy Diplomacy and its Influence in the Caucasus and Central Asia
Chapter 4. Indian Energy Policy and the Protection of the Environment at the Federal and State Levels
Chapter 5. China: Energy Policy and Environmental Matters
Chapter 6. Turkey's Energy Dynamics, Regional Politics and Pipelines in the Context of Global Game-Changers
PART II. CONNECTING ENERGY: The Transnational Dimension of Trade and Environmental Law
Chapter 7. Global Energy Governance, International Environmental Law and the Regional Dimension
Chapter 8. Regional Arrangements Tackling Climate Change and Emissions Trading
Chapter 9. Energy Security, Water Resources, Environmental Concerns and Economic Development in Central Asia
Chapter 10. Energy Investments and Environmental Concerns in South-East Asia
PART III. CONNECTING ENERGY: The Transnational Dimension of Sustainability and Innovation
Chapter 11. The Concept of Sustainability and its Consequences for Energy Policy
Chapter 12. Investing in Sustainable Energy under the Energy Charter Treaty
Chapter 13. Innovation in Energy: A Comprehensive Framework
KEYWORDS: Energy, Policy, Law, Innovation. Technology, Knowledge, Europe, Russia, India, China, Asia, Eurasian, Turkey, Environment, Emissions Trading, Central Asia, South-East Asia, Sustainability, Energy Investments, Scales, Paradigms, Governance, Climate Change, Security, Water, Energy Charter Treaty
Book proposals can be submitted to research@glawcal.org.uk
Book proposals can be submitted to: research@glawcal.org.uk
The entire special issue is available at:
http://www.glawcal.org.uk/journal-special-issues/strategies-to-balance-energy-security-business-trade-and-sustainable-development-selected-case-studies
Paolo Davide FARAH, “Strategies to Balance Energy Security, Business, Trade and Sustainable Development: Selected Case Studies”, JOURNAL OF WORLD ENERGY LAW AND BUSINESS, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, Volume 13, Issue 2, April 2020.
Jean-Yves HEURTEBISE, “Philosophy of Energy and Energy Transition in the Age of the Petro-Anthropocene”, JOURNAL OF WORLD ENERGY LAW AND BUSINESS, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, Volume 13, Issue 2, April 2020.
Anthi KOSKINA, Paolo Davide FARAH and Imad Antoine IBRAHIM, “Trade in Clean Energy Technologies: Sliding from Protection to Protectionism through Obligations for Technology Transfer in Climate Change Law, or Vice Versa?”, JOURNAL OF WORLD ENERGY LAW AND BUSINESS, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, Volume 13, Issue 2, April 2020.
Daria BOKLAN and Olga BELOVA, “Trade in Electricity under WTO and EAEU Law: Compatibility of Two Legal Regimes”,JOURNAL OF WORLD ENERGY LAW AND BUSINESS, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, Volume 13, Issue 2, April 2020.
Alexander Mikhailovich SOLNTSEV, Aslan Khuseinovich ABASHIDZE and Vladimir Mikhailovich FILIPPOV, “Belarusian Ostrovets Nuclear Power Plant: The Challenge of Cross-Border Negotiations to Balance Economic Development and Environmental Protection”, JOURNAL OF WORLD ENERGY LAW AND BUSINESS, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, Volume 13, Issue 2, April 2020.
Barbara JANUSZ-PAWLETTA, “Legal Framework for the Interstate Cooperation on Development and Transport of Fossil Natural Resources of the Caspian Sea”, JOURNAL OF WORLD ENERGY LAW AND BUSINESS, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, Volume 13, Issue 2, April 2020.
Haifeng DENG and Paolo Davide FARAH,“China’s Energy Policies and Strategies for Climate Change and Energy Security”, JOURNAL OF WORLD ENERGY LAW AND BUSINESS, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, Volume 13, Issue 2, April 2020.
Dong YAN, Paolo Davide FARAH, Tivadar ÖTVÖS and Ivana GASKOVA, “Governing the Transboundary Risks of Offshore Methane Hydrate Exploration in the Seabed and Ocean Floor — A Case Study on Existing International Provisions and Chinese Law”, JOURNAL OF WORLD ENERGY LAW AND BUSINESS, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, Volume 13, Issue 2, April 2020.
The entire special issue is available at:
http://www.glawcal.org.uk/journal-special-issues/strategies-to-balance-energy-security-business-trade-and-sustainable-development-selected-case-studies
http://www.glawcal.org.uk/journal-special-issues/sustainable-energy-and-environmental-protection-the-role-of-science-in-society
Edoardo, Bucchignani, Mercogliano Paola, Montesarchio Myriam, and Zollo Alessandra Lucia. Numerical Simulation ofthe Period 1971–2100 over the Mediterranean Area with a Regional Model,Scenario SRES-A1B. Sustainability 9, no. 12 (December 2017): 2192.https://doi.org/10.3390/su9122192.
Heurtebise, J. Sustainability and Ecological Civilization in the Age of Anthropocene: An Epistemological Analysis of the Psychosocial and “Culturalist” Interpretations of Global Environmental Risks. Sustainability 2017, 9(8), 1331; doi:10.3390/su9081331.
Coggiola, N. The Rough Path to the Compensation of Asbestos Damages in China. Sustainability 2017, 9(8), 1431; doi:10.3390/su9081431.
Brombal D. Accuracy of Environmental Monitoring in China: Exploring the Influence of Institutional, Political and Ideological Factors. Sustainability 2017, 9(3), 324; doi:10.3390/su9030324
Ye Li, Lei Bao, Wenxiang Li, Haopeng Deng. Inventory and Policy Reduction Potential of Greenhouse Gas and Pollutant Emissions of Road Transportation Industry in China. Sustainability 2016, 8(12), 1218; doi:10.3390/su8121218
Fernando Dias Simões. Consumer Behavior and Sustainable Development in China: The Role of Behavioral Sciences in Environmental Policymaking. Sustainability 2016, 8(9), 897; doi:10.3390/su8090897
Yu Chen. Conceptual Framework for the Development of an Indicator System for the Assessment of Regional Land Subsidence Disaster Vulnerability. Sustainability 2016, 8(8), 757; doi:10.3390/su8080757
Daniela Szymańska, Aleksandra Lewandowska. Biogas Power Plants in Poland—Structure, Capacity, and Spatial Distribution. Sustainability 2015, 7(12), 16801-16819; doi:10.3390/su71215846
Articles included in this Special issue
1) Editorial Note - Sustainable Energy Investments and National Security: Arbitration and Negotiation Issues
2) Powered by Expertise: Selecting Arbitrators in Energy Disputes
3) How Can a Prospective China-EU BIT Contribute to Sustainable Investment: In Light of the UNCTAD Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development
4) Analysis of the Impact on Sustainable Development by Investment Regulations in the Energy Charter Treaty
5) Offshore Natural Gas Resources in the Eastern Mediterranean in Relations to the European Union: a Legal Perspective through the Lenses of MedReg; 6) China’s Role and Contribution in the Global Governance of Climate Change: Institutional Adjustments for Carbon Tax Introduction, Collection and Management in China
The entire special issue is available at:
http://glawcal.org.uk/index.php/journal-special-issues.html
Keywords: international law, intellectual property, sustainability, agriculture, food security, indigenous knowledge, biodiversity, cultural traditions, traditional knowledge, property rights, farmers' rights, farming, sui generis
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4352769
In recent years, climate change litigation has increased but many of these cases have failed to achieve their objective(s) of legally coercing states to combat global warming. Nevertheless, more recent rulings have signaled a shifting momentum in favor of climate activists, gaining significant international attention. Among these rulings are two cases out of the Netherlands and the United States (U.S.) –– Urgenda and Juliana. The former is considered a great success, given the Dutch state’s mandate to meet and increase its greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. The latter is considered a case to build upon, given that the presiding U.S. judge dismissed the case. This article seeks to answer the following question: what lessons may be learned from the success of Urgenda, and the failure of Juliana, for future climate change litigation? The authors highlight two key factors that play vital roles in climate change litigation: the specificity to which the state is coerced to pursue strict environmental regulation and judicial activism affected by the types of demands made by the plaintiffs.
Keywords: Climate Change, Urgenda, Juliana, Litigation, Judicial Activism
THE FULL FILE IS AVAILABLE AT:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4352769
Climate change is a global phenomenon. Therefore, globalization is the necessary hermeneutical horizon to develop an analysis of the metamorphosis climate change could cause at a political, social, and economic level. Within this horizon, this Article shows how the relationship between the concept of the Anthropocene epoch and the request for justice allows for framing a climate-justice and intergenerational equity–focused political interpretation of the effects of climate change. In order to avoid reducing such an interpretation to merely an ideological critique of capitalism, the conception of climate justice needs to be grounded in a rational, ethical model. This Article proposes that the ethics of responsibility, inspired by Hans Jonas’s well-known philosophy, could work as a promising rational foundation for climate justice. The ethics of responsibility also align with the principles established by the study and analysis of the relationships between science, technology, and society.
Keywords: Climate Change, Globalization, Multilateralism, Science, Technology, Society, Ethics, Climate Justice, Principle of Responsibility, Intergenerational Equity
THE FULL ARTICLE IS AVAILABLE AT: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4350886
Public ownership is closely bound to the need of the government to protect and guarantee the well-being of its citizens. Where the market cannot, or does not want to, provide goods and services, the State uses different tools to intervene, influence, and control some aspects of the private sphere of expression of its citizens in the name and interest of the collectivity. Although, in the past century, this behavior was accepted as one of the expressions of the public authority and part of the social contract, this perception has shifted partially in accordance with the wave of privatization programs initiated in the 1980s and the advent of economic neoliberalism. The aim of the present research is to examine and understand how International Economic Law addresses public ownership. This paper is structured as follows. After the introductory remarks, Section II covers the relationship between public ownership and international economic law. Section II expounds the existing and historical regulatory framework on a state’s interference into the market and the more recent impetus to regulate State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in bilateral and regional Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). Section III moves the analysis to China and highlights the challenges to international economic law and WTO Law brought on by Chinese SOEs and the lack of regulation in this context. Lastly, the article analyzes the increase in the use of SOEs to counteract the COVID-19 pandemic and assesses how the relationship between the state and the market will likely change as a result. We argue that in light of the severity of existing global challenges, the “social function” of public ownership and a more proactive role of the State in the economy could enable a more just transition, where the balance between economic development, social values, and a healthy and clean environment will be struck.
Keywords: Public Ownership, World Trade Organization, WTO, International Law, International Economic Law, Business Law, Commercial Law, State-Owned Enterprises, SOEs, China, Free-Trade Agreements, FTAs, Privatization, Global Challenges, Just Transition, COVID-19, Social Function
THE FULL ARTICLE IS AVAILABLE AT THE FOLLOWING LINK: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4318806
If we imagine the proverb “if the mountain won't come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain” as an equation with two variables, information and communication technologies (“ICT”) and public administration, it will not matter which place each one of them will take in the equation. In the present times of digital disruption, fourth industrial revolution, or even Harari’s looming specter of the so-called dataism, they are compelled to meet at some point, even if they prefer to avoid the encounter. Public administration must adapt to the pulse of the time. Public administrations (and elected representatives) around the world are facing more and more challenges posed by artificial intelligence (“AI”), block-chain technologies, big data and algorithms, and cyber-security. Sometimes, these challenges threaten national security. Policymakers recognize the need to update policies and regulations to reflect the impact these new technologies have made in our society. From another perspective, however, these emerging technologies might be useful instruments for public administrators to improve efficiency, considering its services are ultimately beneficial for the general well-being. Ultimately, successful emerging technologies in the public administration space will be able to facilitate the interactions and business of citizens – living human beings, which have (so far at least) different needs than machines, algorithms, and other technological processes. This article sheds light and focuses on the interplay between public administration, block-chain technology, and citizens. We begin by broadly describing emerging technologies in the context of sustainable development. Consequently, we scrutinize the application of block-chain technology in the field of public administration, its potential to enhance citizens' trust in their government, and block-chain's potential to transform the relationship between public administration and citizens. The article follows a recommendation given by scholars doing research on the block-chain technology, who identified the lack of research on the potential of block-chain “to address societal needs.” Considering the field of ICT is inherently international, and their pervasiveness can be seen as a symptom of border-less globalization, excessive liberalism, and lack of global governance, the paper will make use of relevant examples from a variety of countries irrespective of their regional location.
Keywords: Emerging Technologies, Block-chain, Public Administration, Law, Theories, Practice, ICT, Information Communication Technologies, Globalization, Governance, Global, Artificial Intelligence, National Security
The Full article is accessible at the following link: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3610427
At first sight the potential discrepancy between competitive behavior of market participants, trade rules and the basic notion of sustainable development may seem to be of a negligible importance. However, during the interactions of market processes with sustainability goals through various levels of support, provided by public or private entities problems arise, even more so in the light of the commitments of the Paris Agreement, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and corporate social responsibility principles. This Article aims to address the most obvious overlappings between these areas under the coverage of legal provisions regulating the grant of state aid, subsidies and policies related to mutual cooperation of private subjects towards achieving sustainability. The purpose is to draw conclusions regarding the criteria taken into consideration during the evaluation of competition distorting behaviors in case of environmental and sustainable energy state aid, subsidy- and contract-based cooperation and coalitions among private entities.
Keywords: Competition Law, Energy, Sustainable Development, Individualism, Cooperative Partnership, Paris Agreement, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Trade, Market, Corporate Social Responsibility
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China’s accession to the WTO is widely understood as an important step towards greater global market liberalization and integration. However, this step has been also perceived in an ambivalent way. On one hand, the global market liberalization would have never been really completed without participation of such a major player as China. On the other hand, many observers articulated concerns about China’s ability to integrate into the WTO system. In order to tackle the issues of concern, attention was paid mainly to technical issues, which were seen as a precondition for China’s successful integration into the WTO system. For this reason, topics related with market integration, such as e.g. liberalization requirements, as well as topics related with transparency and legal and administrative policies, necessary for securing of just and equitable resolution of commercial and trade disputes, were initially addressed.
Still, in the light of the changing and evolving geopolitical climate, it has become more evident that Non-Trade Concerns (NTCs) might be another multifaceted topic requiring special attention. EU and US, becoming increasingly aware of the fact that competition of economies with different level of development might result not only in job losses in developed countries due to relocation of production, but also to general deterioration of environmental, social and health standards, have accentuated the importance of a global consensus on NTCs and their inclusion into EU and US external policies concerning foreign trade and investment. Civil society from the developed world, in general, is afraid that further liberalization may endanger public policies at different levels: environmental protection and sustainable development, good governance, cultural rights, labor rights, public health, social welfare, national security, food security, access to knowledge, consumer protection, and animal welfare.
On the other hand, coalition consisting of China and other BRICS countries as well as other developing countries gaining more influence in the WTO and other international fora has been able to articulate discontent with measures adopted by developed countries to address NTCs. The clash between interests of developed and developing countries reveals potential unfairness and inconsistencies of the international system, including the international trade system, which needs to undergo a deep reform to integrate the developing countries’ needs.
Many of the measures that developed countries introduce to address NTCs were received by developing countries with suspicion, resistance, and even hostility. Developing countries, including China, doubt the authenticity of such considerations and think they might actually hide protectionist purposes. Additionally, developing countries see these measures as an indirect form of western imperialism whereby they will have no choice but to comply with the social, ethical, and cultural values of the developed states. Nonetheless, not only has China undergone serious reforms and adopted new regulations to address the issue of NTCs, but the country has even begun to play an important role in the international negotiations on NTCs—such as those on climate change, energy, culture, and so on.
However, at the same time it provides an opportunity for China and other developing countries to defend their interests in a constructive dialogue with developed countries and restructure the system in order to find a necessary balance between globalization and sustainable development or to shape it according to their interests.
Keywords: Globalization, WTO, International Economic Law, Trade, Non-Trade Concerns, Good Governance, Human Rights, Right to Water and Food, Social and Economic Rights, Cultural Rights, Labour, Environment, Climate Change, Energy, Intellectual Property, Health, Sustainability
JEL Classification: Q40, Q48, Q50, Q56, Q58, Q34, Q37, Q32, Q23, Q24, Q25, Q27, K33, K32, Q17, Q18
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China is believed to have the world's largest exploitable reserves of shale gas, although several legal, regulatory, environmental, and investment-related issues will likely restrain its exploitation. China's capacity to face these hurdles successfully and produce commercial shale gas will have a crucial impact on the regional gas market and on China’s energy mix, as Beijing strives to decrease reliance on imported oil and coal, and, at the same time, tries to meet growing energy demand and maintain a certain level of resource autonomy. The development of the unconventional natural gas extractive industry will also provide China with further negotiating power to obtain more advantageously priced gas. This article, which adopts a comparative perspective, underlines the trends taken from unconventional fuel development in the United States, emphasizing their potential application to China in light of recently signed production-sharing agreements between qualified foreign investors and China. The wide range of regulatory and enforcement problems in this matter are increased by an extremely limited liberalization of gas prices, lack of technological development, and barriers to market access curbing access to resource extraction for private investors. This article analyzes the legal tools that can play a role in shale gas development while assessing the new legal and fiscal policies that should be crafted or reinforced. It also examines the institutional settings’ fragmentation and conflicts, highlighting how processes and outcomes are indeed path dependent. Moreover, the possibilities of cooperation and coordination (including through U.S.-China common initiatives), and the role of transparency and disclosure of environmental data are assessed. These issues are exacerbated by concerns related to the risk of water pollution deriving from mismanaged drilling and fracturing, absence of adequate predictive evaluation regulatory instruments and industry standards: this entails consequences for social stability and environmental degradation which are inconsistent with the purposes of sustainable development.
Keywords: Shale Gas, Unconventional Fuel, China, U.S.A., Water, Energy, Environmental Protection, Sustainable Development, Comparative Law, Foreign law, Science and Technology, International Law, Transparency, Pricing, Investments, Trade, Production-sharing, Market Access, Taxation, Fiscal Policies, Social
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Renewable energy subsidies are crucial for combatting climate change, and yet the world’s international legal infrastructure is not designed to accommodate such subsidies. The world needs a renewable energy sector to develop and implement the technologies necessary to reduce carbon and renewable subsidies are one of the best ways to cultivate this sector quickly. At the same time, one country’s unfair subsidies can harm another country’s industry. To take a recent newsworthy example, China’s subsidies for its solar exports has allegedly bankrupted solar companies in the United States (US) and European Union (EU), undermining this crucial sector in these countries as it takes root. Thus, renewable subsidies pit two legitimate policy concerns against each other: cultivation of renewable energy and prevention of unfair trade practices.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) regulates most subsidies effectively, but was simply not designed with renewable subsidies in mind. The Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM) – the heart of the WTO subsidies regime – treats renewable subsidies the same as all other subsidies, without an environmental exception in force that takes into account non-trade concerns. This environmental blind spot is unusual for the WTO: for example, Article XX of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) includes an environmental exception for tariffs and other non-subsidy measures. However, an environmental exception did not make it into the SCM, leaving the agreement ill-suited to balance trade and environmental concerns.
This article proposes several legal solutions to fix the SCM’s environmental blind spot – invocation of the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) for some subsidies, using the SCM’s definition of subsidies to exclude some forms of support for renewable energy — especially Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) - from the WTO’s subsidies regime entirely, adopting a flexible interpretation of GATT Article XX’s environmental exception such that it may apply to subsidies, and negotiating a new WTO agreement for renewable subsidies. Of all the solutions proposed, this article argues that the best approach would be to apply GATT Article XX to the SCM. This approach is not obvious, because WTO law does not make clear the relationship between the GATT and the SCM. Nevertheless, strong legal and policy reasons support this approach.
This article proceeds as follows: Part II provides background, first on renewable subsidies, then on the current WTO regime governing subsidies. Part III discusses the proposed legal solutions to the WTO’s green subsidy problem. Part IV compares the proposed solutions and concludes that applying Article XX to the SCM is the best approach.
Keywords: World Trade Organization, WTO, GATT, Sustainable Development, Environment, Energy, Feed-in-Tariffs, Subsidies, Financial Contribution, Ethanol, FIT, Climate Change, International Environmental Law, Local Content Requirement, China, Agriculture, Green, Tax Incentives, Loans, Price Support
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The ability to protect and safeguard cultural heritage is of vital importance to some communities. Without the ability to maintain control over these expressions, external subjects could freely appropriate them, which could negatively affect the community’s identity, spirituality, and general well-being. Increasing awareness regarding cultural heritage provides momentum to better define a legal framework for the protection of the intangible goods that constitute cultural heritage. It is fundamental to ascertain whether the current intellectual property right (IPR) regime represents an adequate model of protection vis-à-vis intangible cultural heritage (ICH). The culture’s unique concerns, which variably affect ICH, make it difficult to compare the rationales for these two legal domains. These concerns are pivotal in elaborating the need for legal protection. Not only does misuse and misappropriation of ICH cause economic damage, but it also violates the community’s human rights and identity.
Accordingly, a range of issues must be taken into consideration, starting with the desirability of the commodification, or “reification,” which would allow communities to control the commercialization of their ICH through the current IPR regime. To adequately address concerns about commodification, a legal framework must be developed that can guarantee adequate advantages for the countries and communities where the intangible goods originate. This legal framework must, in due time, boost the efforts of these communities to promote a self-sustainable model of economic development and lead them through the inevitable social policy changes that would accompany new ICH protections.
Therefore, our study aims to clarify theoretical and practical legislative tools available to help the actors concerned ascertain how to exploit, trade, and market their own resources and heritage within the global market. Bearing in mind that there are numerous potential legal remedies or amendments to the current legal regime covering the protection of cultural heritage, it is not conceivable to tackle this issue as one uniform hurdle. Each community’s ICH concerns are extremely specific, and, as a result, it may be appropriate to apply ad hoc legal remedies to some, but not all, circumstances involving ICH.
This analysis consists of five Parts. Part I defines fundamental concepts associated with ICH. Part II looks at ICH as a continuous process of social involvement that helps preserve cultural identification. Part III analyzes the current forms of protection available for cultural expression and knowledge. Part IV discusses the shortcomings of adopting a single, all-embracing, umbrella solution and analyzes ways in which the current IPRs can help protect ICH. And finally, Part V proposes ways to modify and improve the current IPRs to protect ICH more efficiently.
Keywords: Intellectual Property, IP, Technology Transfer, Human Rights, Sustainable Development, Intangible Cultural Heritage, Indigenous People, Commodification, Local Communities, IPR, ICH, UNESCO, Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks.
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Keywords: Science, Society, Law, Technology, Information-Based Society, Post-Truth Era
Keywords: Science, Technology, Policy, Law, International Law, Truth, Justice, Opinions, Society, Natural Sciences, Things, Facts, Evidence, Precautionary Principle, Globalization, Compliance Mechanisms, Flexibility, Interconnections, Paris Agreement
Keywords: Science, Technology, Society, Law, Truth, Facts, Justice, Social Environment, Human Activities, Science and Technology Studies, Science Technology and Society (STS), COVID-19, Epistemology, Technoscience, ChatGPT, Artificial Intelligence, Legal Sciences, Scientific Law, Kelsen, Techno-Regulations
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1 Introduction Mapping the crisis of multilateralism By Paolo D Farah, Lukasz Gruszczynski, Marcin J Menkes, Veronika Bílková Part I Conceptualizing the crisis Chapter 2 The Crisis of Trust in Contemporary Multilateralism International Order in Times of Perplexity By Oleksandr Vodiannikov Chapter 3 Believing Is Seeing Normative Consensus and the Crisis of Institutional Multilateralism By Sean Butler Chapter 4 Revisiting the ‘Crisis’ of International Law By Maria Varaki Chapter 5 The Multilateral International Order – Reports of Its Death Are Greatly Exaggerated By Mary E. Footer Part II Dynamics and implications of the crisis Chapter 6 State Withdrawals of Jurisdiction from an International Adjudicative Body By Christopher Lentz Chapter 7 Multilateralism, Community of Interests, and Environmental Law By Malgosia Fitzmaurice Chapter 8 The Advent and Fall of Trust as a Cornerstone of Judicial Cooperation in Multilateral Regimes in Europe: A Cautionary Tale By Vassilis Pergantis Chapter 9 The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Regime at 50 A Midlife Crisis and its Consequences By Agnieszka Nimark Chapter 10 The Crisis of Multilateralism Through the Prism of the Experience of the International Criminal Court By Patrycja Grzebyk, Karolina Wierczyńska Chapter 11 Global Governance Crises and Rule of Law Lessons from Europe's Multilevel Constitutionalism By Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann Chapter 12 We Have Never Been ‘Multilateral’ Consensus Discourse in International Trade Law By Jessica C Lawrence Chapter 13 The EU's Reform of the Investor-State Dispute Resolution System A Bilateral Path towards a Multilateral Solution By Ewa Żelazna Chapter 14 Challenges to Multilateralism at the World Health Organization By Margherita Melillo Chapter 15 The Council of Europe and Russia Emerging from a Crisis or Heading Towards a New One? By Szymon Zaręba Chapter 16 Conclusion By Paolo Davide Farah, Marcin J Menkes, Lukasz Gruszczynski, Veronika Bílková
Multilateralism has served as a foundation for international cooperation over the past several decades. Championed after the Second World War by the United States and Western Europe, it expanded into a broader global system of governance with the end of the Cold War. Lately, an increasing number of States appear to be disappointed with the existing multilateral arrangements, both at the level of norms and that of institutions. The great powers see unilateral and bilateral strategies, which maximize their political leverage rather than diluting it in multilateral fora, as more effective ways for controlling the course of international affairs. The signs of the crisis have been visible for some time – but recent crises indicate an acceleration of the on-going disintegration of the multilateral system, such as Brexit, growing resistance on the part of States to international monitoring of compliance and the radical change in the US foreign policy during the presidency of Donald Trump which saw the US withdraw from several multilateral agreements (e.g. the Iran Nuclear Deal and the Paris Agreement), leave some international organizations or bodies (e.g. the United Nations Human Rights Council or the World Health Organization) or paralyze some others (e.g. the World Trade Organization (WTO)). Tackling the debate surrounding the crisis of multilateralism and the related transformation of the underlying international legal order, The Crisis of Multilateral Legal Order analyzes selected aspects of the current crisis from the perspective of public international law to identify the nature of the crisis, its dynamics, and implications.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1 Introduction Mapping the crisis of multilateralism By Paolo D Farah, Lukasz Gruszczynski, Marcin J Menkes, Veronika Bílková Part I Conceptualizing the crisis Chapter 2 The Crisis of Trust in Contemporary Multilateralism International Order in Times of Perplexity By Oleksandr Vodiannikov Chapter 3 Believing Is Seeing Normative Consensus and the Crisis of Institutional Multilateralism By Sean Butler Chapter 4 Revisiting the ‘Crisis’ of International Law By Maria Varaki Chapter 5 The Multilateral International Order – Reports of Its Death Are Greatly Exaggerated By Mary E. Footer Part II Dynamics and implications of the crisis Chapter 6 State Withdrawals of Jurisdiction from an International Adjudicative Body By Christopher Lentz Chapter 7 Multilateralism, Community of Interests, and Environmental Law By Malgosia Fitzmaurice Chapter 8 The Advent and Fall of Trust as a Cornerstone of Judicial Cooperation in Multilateral Regimes in Europe: A Cautionary Tale By Vassilis Pergantis Chapter 9 The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Regime at 50 A Midlife Crisis and its Consequences By Agnieszka Nimark Chapter 10 The Crisis of Multilateralism Through the Prism of the Experience of the International Criminal Court By Patrycja Grzebyk, Karolina Wierczyńska Chapter 11 Global Governance Crises and Rule of Law Lessons from Europe's Multilevel Constitutionalism By Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann Chapter 12 We Have Never Been ‘Multilateral’ Consensus Discourse in International Trade Law By Jessica C Lawrence Chapter 13 The EU's Reform of the Investor-State Dispute Resolution System A Bilateral Path towards a Multilateral Solution By Ewa Żelazna Chapter 14 Challenges to Multilateralism at the World Health Organization By Margherita Melillo Chapter 15 The Council of Europe and Russia Emerging from a Crisis or Heading Towards a New One? By Szymon Zaręba Chapter 16 Conclusion By Paolo Davide Farah, Marcin J Menkes, Lukasz Gruszczynski, Veronika Bílková
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ABSTRACT: The importance of the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus has been recognized in recent decades where the international community has sought to directly establish such connections through official documents and declarations. Nonetheless, from a legal perspective, the WEF Nexus has not been sufficiently examined as lawyers and legal scholars have only recently started analyzing this matter. In this context, this chapter is seeking to answer the following questions: is it possible and helpful to regulate the WEF Nexus under an international legal perspective? Which kind of rules can be established and how is it possible to strike a balance among diverging values and interests represented within the WEF Nexus itself? This chapter will highlight that, although a global regulatory framework is ideal and would be effective, such a system needs to be combined with the inclusion of a specific provision involving transboundary water agreements. An additional legal document will be needed and should be adopted to tackle the WEF Nexus in detail. In addition, this discourse will also consider the Sustainable Development Goals framework, which requires the assessment of the WEF Nexus, when any specific goal is considered.
INTRODUCTION:
Natural resources management has been a challenging task as governments at the regional, national, and international levels have attempted to develop the legal frameworks to address the governance gap through a multiscalar and multilevel approach for years (Coria and Sterner, 2011; Farah and Rossi, 2011). The recognition of the interlinkages between water, energy, and food in recent years, especially in the last decade, has further complicated natural resources governance (Liu et al., 2017; Dodds and Bartram, 2016). Despite all the literature examining the WEF Nexus, the use of this concept for the establishment of policies is, for the time being, limited (Albrecht et al., 2018). A huge amount of WEF Nexus research is future oriented in that it addresses future challenges affecting natural resources management where other matters such as climate change and population growth represent a part of that challenge (Hoolohan et al., 2018). Yet, a lack of tools and mechanisms for addressing the challenges emerging from the water, energy, and food sectors and their interconnection through the Nexus exists, despite the increasing focus on these matters (Mohtar and Daher, 2016). In fact, cross-sectoral cooperation is needed as most administrations and institutions tackle only one specific sector. Such cross-sectoral cooperation may be achieved either through a new governance system or by the adaptation of the existing policies, although both have pros and cons (Märker et al., 2018).
The synergies between the three different sectors have been recognized in fields such as engineering for years, while lawyers and social science researchers have only begun addressing this issue recently (Wiegleb and Bruns, 2018). Lawyers and legal researchers, in particular, did not have to address the existing synergies for a variety of reasons such as the legal distinction that was usually made at the domestic level with regard to each particular resource. In addition, different authorities and regulators were created to manage each resource separately (Boute, 2016; Belinskij, 2015). At the international level, each of the three WEF sectors has developed separately and, through the use of existing global legal frameworks and provisions, some sectors do acknowledge the existence of each other (either directly or indirectly). From a legal perspective, however, some sectors are much less developed (Fortin, 2017; Wawryk, 2014; Bodansky, 2010). As such, it is only now that lawyers and legal scholars, who were forced to address this question, are considering it from a global and domestic lens, where the focus is on whether the concept itself makes sense from a legal perspective and on the legal consequences that may emerge as a result.
To that end, this chapter is seeking to answer the following questions: is it possible and helpful to regulate the WEF Nexus under an international legal perspective? Which kind of rules can be established and how is it possible to strike a balance among diverging values and interests and within different and equally important global common goods represented within the WEF Nexus itself? This is also true in the analysis of Non-Trade Concerns in international economic law (Farah and Cima, 2016) and we can draw a parallel of the findings in this field and apply them to the WEF Nexus. While it is not possible to provide a clear and precise answer to these questions due to the many factors involved and the complexities surrounding this topic, the authors will point to two main realities that must be considered when examining this topic: 1) that any regulation of the WEF Nexus needs to occur in the context of fragmentation of international law, and 2) that fragmentation is needed to address all the existing common challenges from a legal perspective.
Keeping these realities in mind, the authors will focus on whether already existing rules can regulate the WEF Nexus with an improved coordination of different treaties and rules, or whether, given the complexity and the need of harmony among different values, treaties, legal systems and the strong influence of ever-changing science and technology, this would not be enough. The chapter will focus on how to regulate the WEF Nexus at the global scale, but it will also point out that this does not automatically mean that it would be efficient to address the WEF Nexus in practice. The WEF Nexus is exemplary of the overgrowing connection between global and local concerns (represented by the use of the word “glocalism”) and of the growing research in the area of comparative international law, transnational law and of interconnections between law and other disciplines, such as law and geography or legal geography, law and social sciences, and humanities such as anthropology, sociology, philosophy, or other fields. Law, including international law, by itself, is not fully capable of assessing, and even less capable of solving, complex situations such as those of the WEF Nexus, which are mostly related to situations that take place at the basin and regional levels. Therefore, there is a need for a more context-specific regulation to strike a balance between global and local regulations. The best solution, here, would certainly require the assistance of other fields and disciplines. The authors will emphasize that the most efficient legal solution is a combination of global rules providing guidelines with basin specific regulations that should be drafted in the framework of transboundary water agreements adopted at the basin level and tailored to the needs and circumstances of each basin.
To that end, the chapter will first examine the WEF Nexus from a legal perspective before proceeding to discuss the realities of the fragmentation in international law. Later, the authors will examine the legal developments that need to occur through the lens of efficiency and effectiveness.
Keywords: Water, Energy, Food, Nexus, International Law, Fragmentation, Natural Resources, Global Challanges, Multiscalar, Multilevel Approach, Cross-Sectorial Collaboration, Global, Domestic, Local, Institutions, Science, Decision-Making, Ecosystems, Philosophy of Science, Science Technology & Society (STS)
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https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4354355
“Globalization” is a word with many meanings. Some people say globalization is responsible for having lifted millions of people out of poverty over the past decades. Other people say that globalization is neocolonialism. All will agree that the processes that accompany globalization have had tremendous impacts on the environment. Commodification of the environment along with environmental degradation have led to an almost universal awareness of the negative effects of such crises as disrupted climate. However promising the concepts “sustainable development” and “sustainability” may have been, they have become overused and meaningless. Like worn-out coins, they became just placeholders. To re-inscribe meaning in the metal of sustainable development, the authors in this book examine environmental problems caused, facilitated or exacerbated by globalization, as seen from the perspectives of the Global South and emerging economies. Investments, trade and technological advances are key driving forces of transition in these countries. The economic development component (also known as “green-growth” policies) may be preferred by globalizing forces, which also regard it as most suitable to cope with climate disruption, for example. With the globalization of economics comes some aspects of the globalization of law. The globalization of environmental law that is currently under formation in the Global South addresses the integration of the ecological and economic components by analyzing the contribution of emerging and developing economies. Sometimes, environmental law is part of the solutions; sometimes environmental law is part of the problems. In this book, the terms “Global South” and “emerging economies” are included as alternative conceptualizations to the “developed” and “developing” countries. But this alternative conceptualization itself is a divide that enables globalization.
The Global South is no longer a passive actor in the environmental global discourse, but is proactively and assertively shaping, advancing and furthering environmental law. In these countries, environmental degradation is a new form of “poverty” that curtails and undermines the right to development and, in extreme cases, the right to life. Therefore, in these countries we must look for innovative strategies and approaches to mitigate environmental crises. By the year 2100, the Global South will be 82.2% of global population with tremendous effects on the perception and framing of the priorities of the international community. Not only because of population but also due to economic, social and cultural development, the Global South merits attention.
In the chapters of this book, the perspectives of the Global South and emerging economies are presented by lawyers from Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Mongolia, Nigeria, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as from the European states of France, Georgia, Germany and Slovakia. The authors are natives of either emerging economies or of the Global South, or work extensively in those regions.
All of the book’s themes are mentioned in the title: globalization, environmental law, sustainable development, the Global South, implementation and challenges. Within the term “sustainable development” we find the word “development.” As regards globalization, this word indicates that the world is still divided between developing and developed countries. If one allows this differentiation, then the implication is that the world is described only in terms of economy. However, the exclusive focus on the economy is too shortsighted, because without a healthy environment, an economy can hardly thrive. Moreover, as Indian public interest environmental lawyer M.C. Mehta has insisted, “Only when the environment is degraded or the people ripped from their connection with the Earth, can they truly be considered poor.” Consequently, the concept of development must be expanded to include topics other than the economy, and to feature these other topics and thus answer questions such as how a system can function if responsible states are not required to carry the burdens of degradation. Topics include investment in clean industries, trade in green goods and agricultural products, intellectual property rights, traditional knowledge, technology transfer, emerging technologies such as big data, climate disruption, energy security, food security, conservation of biodiversity, environmental restoration, development aid and trade facilitation.
As a political, economic, social and legal organizing strategy, globalization tends toward a one-world system. Important questions to answer are: Whose world will that one world system resemble? Will it look like the Global South, the Global North, or a third way? If the one world is to be the Global North, what is the carrying capacity of the planet for the necessarily greater demand on limited resources that the Northern lifestyle will require upon achieving globalization? Proponents of globalization would credit it with “lifting” people out of poverty. One must ask whether that can be true for the short term or the long term. Even within the northern economy of the United States, the divide between the wealthy and the poor grows at an increasing rate.
The processes that accompany globalization have undeniably taken a tremendous toll on the environment. As an economic strategy, the commodification of the environment has caused degradation resulting in such unintended results as global climate disruption. This, in turn, has an inevitable impact on people’s health and thus on the value of a country’s development. Environmental degradation is a new form of “poverty” that curtails and undermines the right to development and, in some cases, even the right to life. The pressure on developing countries and emerging economies to conserve resources and support sustainable development is therefore evident. Although they are no longer passive actors, and are proactively and assertively shaping the environmental law that is part of the global fabric, the rationale for doing so widely differs from that of the Global North. So far, the approach of multilateral development banks is to use and transplant institutions from the Global North in order to strengthen market forces, which continues a dependency relationship that smacks of neocolonialism. More recently, those banks have considered environmental protection. Too little attention is paid to local circumstances and to the different ethical underpinnings of development in these countries. The main question that this book attempts to answer is how to include the contributions of the Global South in the sustainable development paradigm that proved to be so far ineffective. Reaching a balance between the Global North and South in globalized environmental law is of utmost priority for the international community.
If environmental law is to be globalized, will it just be a tool of enablement for a globalized Northern economy until, in the not too distant future, all of earth’s resources are exhausted? If not, then globalized environmental law requires a different path than that taken by previous globalized environmental exploitation. For a globalized environmental law to be just and to sustain life in a truly global sense, it must benefit the developing and emerging economies, and benefit from those economies. Otherwise, states and cultures of the Global North are only attempting to fix environmental problems with the same rationale and instruments that in fact created the very same problems.
Implementation is another theme of the book. Experience demonstrates many times over that if “environmental law” is presented in the context of how it is experienced in the Northern Hemisphere, a student of law from the Global South is likely to say “we have constitutional provisions, legislation and regulations too, but they are not implemented.” Thus it is that we present this book. This edited collection reviews first the difficulties in transplanting and implementing legal norms aimed at the management of environmental risks in the Global South.
The methods of the authors span from pure theory to original data collection in the field, with most contributions falling somewhere between. The book is organized into three parts. Each part’s theme is presented by the authors largely through the concrete context of a representative country. In addition, a theme that is woven through every chapter is to ask how law can enable sustainable development, given the limited carrying capacity of the earth. The final part addresses the proposed alternatives from the Global South to environmental law globalized from the North.
Entire Book Available in Open Access:
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https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4354355
When we speak of “the environment,” people often think of the material world that is around humans, but not humans, as though environmental protection is a big nature reserve project. The relation between humans and non-humans is most often expressed as a matter of protection and force by the first over the latter and not in a way that strengthens coexistence of the different parts of the society. It is therefore more helpful to speak of “ecology,” because its root is the ancient Greek word “οἶκος“ (oikos), which simultaneously could mean the house, the family or the family’s property. Using our abstract concepts such as sustainable development, and our abstract tools, such as the law, our family is building and protecting our own house, not a nature reserve that is somewhere else. Seen this way, the remaining challenge is to see the house as the house of our family of humans; the common house of all of our family, not my house in the wealthy suburbs and yours in the impoverished city. While industrial environmental problems may have originally been seen as local water or air problems, solved by sending the waste or pollution to someone else’s house, global challenges like climate disruption have reminded us that we were really just sending the pollution and dumping the waste in another room of our own house all along. The example of emerging economies is noteworthy. The environmental crisis more severely affects what falls under the umbrella of the Global South. It is precisely here that we need to look at innovative answers to global challenges. The aim of this edited collection is to bring to the table a different perspective on environmental law and governance by including the voices of the countries that due to their location or to their status as emerging economies are, sadly, too often excluded from the discussion. International environmental law rose to prominence thanks to an effort of forward looking scholars and writers such as from a wide array of disciplines acknowledging an urgent need of developing a “consciousness that mankind might be imposing, by its growing population and industrial and technological developments, an intolerable burden on the capacity of its environment to sustain either its existing activities or their growth” . Still, a consciousness which limits economic growth and activities clashes with basic tenants of human development such as poverty alleviation efforts and jobs creation especially in countries object of economic exploitation. Global unity in the environmental realm and in other fields throughout history has been only reached when the very own survival of the humans and more recently also of the nonhumans one are at risk. We are again reminded of the weakness of this approach with COVID-19. Our handling of the pandemic clarifies that even if, as a consequence of environmental degradation, something happens in the Global South the connections with the Global North could not be put on hold. Physical borders are no longer able to contain environmental harms and this should push us to further reflect on the fact that we are part of a single family and single house.
Our relationship to our material house may be informed by descriptive natural sciences, but to live with other persons in those material conditions of the home, we need to understand human social practices. Communication, history, customs, and religions are all social practices that must be understood in order to enable our successful co-habitation. So is law. Law in this sense is one set of human social practices, invented by ourselves to serve our needs, including our need to negotiate our relationship to the material nature of the family house in which we all live. And within the law, there are many different models for how we establish the rules and implement the rules. The fact that the rules are limited by the material of our common house does not mean the rules are determined by the material of the house. The rules are determined by its inhabitants. We establish the social practices in many ways, including through legal practices. However, these rules are established and implemented by the most unsustainable super-predator – humans - with no attention for other species’ habitat and sustainability adaptation strategies. Not all humans are the same some part of our material house is in fact able to respect and protect the ecosystem. Indigenous people, while representing a small share of global population, has a deep and intimate connection with the ecosystem which places at the centre non-humans. Rules of Indigenous people’s house mirrors the one of the nature and social rules are crafted based on the need of protecting habitat and biodiversity. Legal tools exist or are under shaping for strengthening the contribution of local communities to the protection of our common house. Heuristically and by analogy, we can borrow, as in the case of indigenous people, some ideas for our social rules from the material rules of nature that we observe. For example, We define an indicator in biology as an organism that the presence, or lack thereof, provides a clear signal about the environmental conditions. Depending on the organism, its appearance can signal both a healthy ecosystem or an unhealthy one. These indicators can reveal information about many factors in an environment, including pollution levels, salinity, temperature and nutrient or food availability. There are many examples of indicator species. Indicator species can be anything from bacteria to more complex organisms such as plants and animals. While everything has evolved to live within certain thresholds, so all organisms are indicators of something; many are considered particularly sensitive and provide a good indication of the initial changes in environmental conditions.
Keywords: Globalization, Global South, Environment, Energy, Sustainable Development, Paris Agreement, Environmental Risks, Litigation Remedies, Governance, Extractive Industries, Mongolia, Nigeria, Uganda, Ethiopia, East Africa, South Africa, India, China, Brazil, European Union, Caribbean Small Islands
Entire Book Available in Open Access:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4354355
This chapter explores the notion of the Anthropocene in the context of climate change and discusses the challenges and implications that climate crisis presents for governance. The role of agile governance systems in complex societal transformation and in addressing “wicked problems” is scrutinized as well. Collaborative forms of governance aim to ensure that democratic principles are not compromised as a result of the need to address the issues presented by the Anthropocene. Seen from the perspective of “knowledge generation”, stakeholder collaboration may allow access to the expertise necessary for combatting false narratives (or narrative fallacies). In the context of the global North-South divide, collaborative approaches harness the potential to improve both mitigative and adaptive paradigms for combatting climate change.
Keywords: Anthropocene, Environment, Sustainability, Indigenous rights, Space and Ethics, Imaginations, Politics, Law, Public Policy, Public Administration, Technology, Earth, Nature, Human Beings, Peaceful Coexistence, Neo-liberalism
In times of profound socio-economic and environmental crises and the distrust in global governance institutions, it is necessary to rethink our categories of interpretation of reality. We should pave the way for a positive and optimistic discussion on how to rebuild trust between humans and nonhumans. Along with the required changes of approach to technology and governance, the power of imagination and experiences from least developed countries and marginalized communities could be helpful instruments to deal with the challenges of the Anthropocene. This chapter reviews the main findings and examines how humans are still relevant in the Anthropocene.
Keywords: Anthropocene, Least-Developed Countries, Collaborative Governance, Humans and Nonhumans, Technology
The adverse position and protests of civil society on economic globalization from the Seattle movement against the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in 1999 to Occupy Wall Street have been primarily fueled by the concerns for the negative consequences and effects that globalization might have, amongst the others, on environmental protection and labor rights. To let the international community better understand that economic liberalization is not merely aimed at ‘pure’ economic growth, it is necessary to take as a model that should be applied on a global scale the integration process of the European Union (EU). Since the establishment of the European Economic Community the four freedom of the Internal Market (people, services, capital and goods) have been essential to reach this objective. The EU is relying on the flexibility offered by the Art. XX of GATT 1994, and broadly the WTO framework to include under its trade policy what has been referred as Non-trade concerns (NTCs). NTCs seek to balance the excess that, a globalization too much focused on economic growth have created. The Regulation EU 995/2010, known as “EU-Timber Regulation” is a leading example of this approach. EUTR, in fact, prohibits the placing and use on the internal market of timber and timber products that come from illegal activities. The aim of the regulation is to enhance trough market restrictions environmental protection, the sustainable use of resources in the EU and abroad. Another example of this approach is the Free Trade Agreement ratified in 2015 with South Korea. The EU-South Korea FTA under its chapter 13 titled “Trade and Sustainable Development” calls for the protection of the environment and of labor rights. Further, the FTA explicitly refers to the discipline of the International Labor Organization (Article 13.4) and to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Article 13.5). The EU should keep following this path to make clear its intention to distinguish between a globalization without a soul and a globalization that increase standard of living, quality of life and environmental protection. Economic sustainability and the inclusion of NTCs should be, therefore, founding values for the EU institutions and citizens.
Keywords: European Union, Non-Trade Concerns, World Trading System, WTO, Human Rights, Sustainability, Global Justice, EU Timber Regulation, EU-Korea, Globalization, Liberalism, Anti-Globalization
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This chapter discusses the basic obligations for national product safety regulations imposed by the TBT Agreement, and gives a general picture of the rules on technical standards that are applicable in the relations between China and its trading partners. The first section defines the scope of the agreement, while the second analyzes its specific requirements relevant to domestic product safety regulations. The last section concludes with some general observations on the functioning of the agreement. Due to the space limitations, this chapter should be regarded more as an introduction than a comprehensive analysis of existing legal obligations.
From the previous reasoning, it is evident that this chapter defines product safety rules quite broadly. They include provisions that aim at eliminating particular health risks – for example, by prohibiting particular chemical substances in some or all products – as well as provisions aimed at limiting their extent – for example, by setting specific thresholds for nicotine in cigarettes or by requiring certain safety devices in cars. In the second instance, a regulator may accept, for other reasons, a certain level of risk connected with the use of a product. Product safety rules also include informational requirements imposed on sellers or producers, such as various labeling obligations requiring them to disclose the composition of a product, provide instructions on its safe use, or indicate specific risks related to such use.
As part of the gLAWcal - Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (United Kingdom) results and book series, a book was published CHINA’S INFLUENCE ON NON-TRADE CONCERNS IN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAW, Climate Change, Sustainable Development, Protection of Environment, Social, Economic and Cultural Rights, Labour Rights, Public Health, Food and Product Safety, Global Law and Sustainable Development Book Series, Routledge Publishing (London/New-York), September 2016, pp. 1-584 TO DOWNLOAD FRONT AND BACK COVER, TABLE OF CONTENTS, INTRODUCTION OF THE BOOK, FOREWORDS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING LINK: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2876883 To purchase the book, you can refer to the publisher website: https://www.routledge.com/Chinas-Influence-on-Non-Trade-Concerns-in-International-Economic-Law/Farah-Cima/p/book/9781409448488
“Preventing future calamity requires not only agreement but action. Governments and other responsible groups are usually accused of reacting to crises rather than foreseeing and preventing them. We have an opportunity here to show that experts, scientists, lawyers, and governments can foresee potentially catastrophic dangers, and prevent them from happening.” This abstract demonstrates the philosophy, issues and objectives of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) adopted since the 1970s. Climate change has been described as “the most challenging environmental issue of our time,” and one cannot help but associate this abstract with the construction of, what is called today, the climate regime. Following the process launched at the Rio Conference, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted in May 1992 and a protocol to the Convention followed in 1997: the Kyoto Protocol.
Back in 1992, in “common but differentiated responsibilities” (CBDRs), “common” meant that there is a universal responsibility to act for the benefit of “present and future generations. Thus, common responsibilities embody both the notions of “common concern” and “common heritage of humankind,” two notions “as old as international environmental law itself.” In other words, environmental issues such as climate change have too much of a universal impact for the response to be “solely a matter of domestic jurisdiction.”
The CBDR principle is only an expression of differential treatment. Other expressions of differentiation are used in the climate regime and could take precedence in the future. It is parties’ actual obligations that will matter to combat climate change. In order to do so, the climate regime must keep a balance between commitments and assistance. Indeed, although adaptation to climate change and assistance are truly important issues, one has to realize that the fight against climate degradation cannot be fought without commitments from stronger polluters to reduce their emissions. The notion of responsibility is central in CBDR but current contributions to climate change cannot be forgotten. COP22 which will be held in Marrakesh between the 7th and 18th of November 2016, will constitute a new opportunity for developed/developing countries to further debate and enhance the latter principle in the light of the commitments/assistance balance that must be maintained.
As part of the gLAWcal - Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (United Kingdom) results and book series, a book was published CHINA’S INFLUENCE ON NON-TRADE CONCERNS IN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAW, Climate Change, Sustainable Development, Protection of Environment, Social, Economic and Cultural Rights, Labour Rights, Public Health, Food and Product Safety, Global Law and Sustainable Development Book Series, Routledge Publishing (London/New-York), September 2016, pp. 1-584 TO DOWNLOAD FRONT AND BACK COVER, TABLE OF CONTENTS, INTRODUCTION OF THE BOOK, FOREWORDS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING LINK: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2876883 To purchase the book, you can refer to the publisher website: https://www.routledge.com/Chinas-Influence-on-Non-Trade-Concerns-in-International-Economic-Law/Farah-Cima/p/book/9781409448488
The ongoing economic instability in several countries and regions throughout the world, along with the volatility of the market and job losses, has lead to an increase in protests that are currently reaching the highest possible levels of conflict against the so-called establishment. Additionally, the growing of political discourse and public opinion regarding the migration crisis and the global fight against terrorism are also providing momentum to some relevant segments of this variegated civil society movements which have continued to express dismay and anger towards human, social, and environmental consequences of the global expansion of world trade and of the monetary and commercial translation of all interpersonal transactions.
Majority votes favoring Brexit and other political turmoil happening around European countries, in the United States, and in different parts of the world are just some of the most critical examples on how the existing systems are failing. Specifically, global governance and law with borderless globalization are to blame for the inability to find appropriate solutions to face the challenges of a constantly changing society. Unfortunately, this inability creates a risk that leaves behind an increasing part of the population who are unable to benefit from such globalization.
The related fear of the people toward the risks of a world without barriers are very real and concrete. Additionally, the proposed solutions to face these problems are certainly influenced by the negative visions on globalization and liberalism, which neglect to take into account the positive effects of the free trade and liberalization of the markets. For example, more and more political leaders are trying to use this discontent among the society for obtaining an easy consensus, without truly having a real program to improve the life of the people. More importantly, without endorsing the intrinsic dangers, a strong shift back towards nationalism might come to fruition in the long-term as a result.
Democratic legitimacy and social justice based on human rights principles should be used as the regulatory framework to structure global expansion of economic welfare as well as WTO rules However, the difficulty and limit of this approach lies in the fact that it affirms both that human rights should guide the process of global legal integration and that the WTO should implement such process. Suggesting that WTO law guarantees respect for fundamental human rights implies a refusal to evaluate the practices of organizations such as the WTO itself and the IMF.
The following section of this chapter examines the particularities of China at a crossroads between the “Right to Development” and “NTCs,” given that China still seeks to grow its economy and expand industry to bring millions of more people out of poverty. Simultaneously, it plays an essential role (together with other BRICS countries) in creating a model to “develop” sustainable, with a view towards tackling climate change, avoiding the increasing environmental risks and damages, and balancing the attractions of foreign investments with labor rights, human rights, and public health.
The subsequent section titled “Non-Trade Concerns status in the WTO multilateral system” develops a non-exhaustive overview and explores the integration of NTCs in the WTO. In particular, the interplay between environment and trade25 is examined and the prospects for the new acceding Members, taking China as a case study and its accession to the WTO in 2001, the change in the attitude of the WTO DSB while ranking public health issues over trade, the relations between food security and international trade regulations, the difficult balance of the right to access essential medicines and the protection of their IPRs, the respect of other human rights in the multilateral trading system, and the relations between cultural products and public morals.
As part of the gLAWcal - Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (United Kingdom) results and book series, a book was published CHINA’S INFLUENCE ON NON-TRADE CONCERNS IN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAW, Climate Change, Sustainable Development, Protection of Environment, Social, Economic and Cultural Rights, Labour Rights, Public Health, Food and Product Safety, Global Law and Sustainable Development Book Series, Routledge Publishing (London/New-York), September 2016, pp. 1-584 TO DOWNLOAD FRONT AND BACK COVER, TABLE OF CONTENTS, INTRODUCTION OF THE BOOK, FOREWORDS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING LINK: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2876883 To purchase the book, you can refer to the publisher website: https://www.routledge.com/Chinas-Influence-on-Non-Trade-Concerns-in-International-Economic-Law/Farah-Cima/p/book/9781409448488
TO DOWNLOAD FRONT AND BACK COVER, TABLE OF CONTENTS, INTRODUCTION OF THE BOOK, FOREWORDS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING LINK:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2876883
To purchase the book, you can refer to the publisher website:
https://www.routledge.com/Chinas-Influence-on-Non-Trade-Concerns-in-International-Economic-Law/Farah-Cima/p/book/9781409448488
The motivating idea for this project is to explore the range of Non-Trade Concerns (NTCs) that may conflict with international economic rules with a specific focus on how China can play a decisive role in these matters. If, on the one hand, this volume looks at the tensions between trade and non-trade values through the Chinese experience, on the other, it contextualizes this analysis within the broader framework of public international law.
Public international law appears highly fragmented, as different treaties and rules, which often express different values, increasingly overlap. Although the goal of multilateral trade agreements and that of the treaties and institutions promoting different values do not inherently conflict, the norms adopted to achieve them might come into conflict, and, in practice, tensions do exist. In particular, norms with distinct objectives – such as sustainable development, environmental protection, public health, product safety, food security, consumer protection, the right to food, and the right to water – might affect trade patterns, or, conversely, changes in trade flows influence and possibly jeopardize the realization of such norms. Tensions do exist not only between each state’s conflicting obligations, but among states as well, since their priorities differ considerably. With regard to NTCs, developing countries do not have the same approach as developed ones. Public opinion and policy-makers in industrialized nations fear that a further liberalization of international trade may undermine or jeopardize policies and measures protecting a variety of non-trade values and react by increasingly resorting to trade restrictions. On the other hand, developing countries and, even more so, the least-developed ones have more pressing concerns to address, and tend to look at many of the trade measures introduced by developed countries to address NTCs with distrust if not with resistance or dissent, because they suspect such measures often hide protectionist goals. Moreover, developing countries see these measures as an attempt by developed countries to impose their social, ethical, or cultural values and preferences. The key challenge is finding ways to satisfy the right of developed nations to grant social values the degree of protection they consider appropriate, while minimizing the negative effects in terms of market distortion for their trading partners.
Prior to China’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), many cautioned that its integration would not only be long and difficult, but possibly damaging to the Organization itself as well as its Members. In view of preventing this outcome, some experts decided to tackle the challenge of integrating China in the world trading system by focusing on the country’s market access concessions, tariff reductions, and liberalization requirements. A second group of scholars placed more emphasis on transparency issues instead, such as legal and administrative policies that China should adopt to ensure equitable and efficient resolution of trade disputes. Per contra, the issue of the potential influence of China’s WTO accession on NTCs has rarely been addressed in a comprehensive manner. Interestingly, though, the country’s influence in this area is now becoming more and more evident in the geopolitical context, considering the impact that China has had not only at the WTO but in other international fora as well, often in combination with the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and other developing countries.
As part of the gLAWcal - Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (United Kingdom) results and book series, a book was published CHINA’S INFLUENCE ON NON-TRADE CONCERNS IN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAW, Climate Change, Sustainable Development, Protection of Environment, Social, Economic and Cultural Rights, Labour Rights, Public Health, Food and Product Safety, Global Law and Sustainable Development Book Series, Routledge Publishing (London/New-York), September 2016, pp. 1-584
TO DOWNLOAD FRONT AND BACK COVER, TABLE OF CONTENTS, INTRODUCTION OF THE BOOK, FOREWORDS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING LINK:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2876883
To purchase the book, you can refer to the publisher website:
https://www.routledge.com/Chinas-Influence-on-Non-Trade-Concerns-in-International-Economic-Law/Farah-Cima/p/book/9781409448488
South-East Asia encompasses a number of countries that have experienced rapid economic growth in the last twenty years. The region as a whole is wealthy in fossil energy sources. Energy demand in South-East Asia is expected to increase dramatically in the coming years, creating problems in terms of relations among countries in the region and environmental degradation. The fossil energy sources are not evenly distributed across the region, and consequently some countries are abundant in resources while others are poor in resources. This state of affairs means that some national conceptions about competition among countries in the region need to be overcome, and appropriate transnational infrastructure for oil and gas transportation needs to be developed. Moreover, intriguing opportunities may derive from the development of renewable energy for about six hundred million people, 8.7 per cent of the entire world population. The analysis will focus on the following countries: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam.
Keywords: Sustainable Energy Investments, Sustainable Development, Climate Change, Environment, South-East Asia, European Union, Innovation, Globalization, Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam.
Central Asia is one of the world’s most prominent regions for hydrocarbon resources. There are large territories still to be explored with high potential, though oil and gas have already been extracted for a hundred years. The region is open to foreign investments, but several issues arise from the past. The breakup of the Soviet Union has not automatically overcome infrastructural dependence. The Russian monopoly on pipelines is in opposition to the interests and the prospective investments of multinational energy companies. The programme for alternative pipelines is, therefore, a technological as well as a geopolitical matter, where international actors and local actors are involved. Central Asia is of strategic importance in terms of international security because of its history, coming from the influence of Russian power, and its geography, with borders with Afghanistan, Iran, China and the Russian Federation. Central Asia, with its large energy resources, seems to be an opportunity also for large energy consumers as evinced by the strong competition between the EU and China to secure supplies from the region. Moreover, the trade in energy commodities and technologies is crucial for the economy of Central Asia and its adapation to climate change.
Economic development and environmental protection are often disjoined in the policies of the region. One reason flows from the pressure on the Central Asian economies to maximize their economic advantages as energy exporters, if any societal progress is to be made. The Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Programme, which is a partnership of nine countries, places its priorities on trade policy and energy. The final goal is to achieve poverty reduction through accelerated economic growth.
Another factor is represented by the interests of global players in securing supplies against environmental considerations. Several regional organizations which have no significant focus on climate change are operating in the region, some strongly influenced by Russia, such as the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) and the Eurasian Economic Union, and some by China, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). It is largely left to the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia to play a regional role in supporting environmental protection. The analysis will focus on Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia.
Water, Sustainable Energy, Sustainable Development, Climate Change, Energy Investments, Innovation, Globalization, Environment, Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Security, Central Asia, Economic Developmen, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia
Cover, Table of Contents, Preface, Introduction, Acknowledgements and Forward can be downloaded at the following website:
http://glawcal.org.uk/index.php/books.html
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2695701
With the growing importance given to the climate change debate, energy has slowly come to attract the complete attention of the whole world. As a matter of fact, the main strategies identified by international bodies and institutions aimed at addressing the climatic issues faced by our planet always involve energy: in terms both of reducing the use of energy sources that increase emissions, and of using them more efficiently. The energy sector can be roughly divided into renewable energy, on the one hand, and fossil fuels, on the other. The former category is at the core of all the main international agreements regarding climate change and current environmental concerns: increasing the exploitation of renewable energy sources has become an urgent matter and a possible route to reach this goal is to facilitate trade and exchange in renewable energy goods, services, and technologies, through trade liberalization. Another possible route to achieve the global goal of reducing CO2 emissions and protect the environment requires reducing the use of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil. Global energy governance does, indeed, appear to be split into several initiatives, comprising a wide range of energy-related issues, such as trade and climate change, which are not coordinated with each other.
Keywords: Global Governance, Energy, Global Energy Governance, Climate Change, Renewable Energy, Fossil Fuels, International Environmental Law, Trade Liberalization, Environmental Protection, Regional Agreements, Services, Technologies, Emissions
Legal Theory, Philosophy of law, Comparative law, Confucianism, Confucius, Social Order, Guanxi, Chinese Harmony, Law and morals, the School of Thoughts in the Chinese legal tradition, Equity, Rule of Law, Juridical Pluralism, Santi Romano""
China, WTO, GATS, GATT, intellectual property rights, market access, agriculture, services, subsidies, technical barriers to trade, financial services, banking services, insurance services, TRIPs, transparency, uniform administration rule, US"""
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Since the start of civilization people relied on different forms of trade for development purposes. Trade has been a defining feature of all civilizations, circulation of goods connects and integrates consumption and production. What changed with globalization is the drastic decrease of trade costs and the increase in available markets, in addition to transforming the entire world into a small village. Exchanges never stopped even in war periods or in pandemics . Yet, removal and reduction of barriers (whether tariffs or physical barriers) during the aftermath of the second world war brought new impetus in international trade. In parallel, relations entered in a phase where stepping up cooperation amongst very different partners and multilateralism, as always sadly only after crisis, were aimed at solving social dilemmas. Circulation of goods, new markets and new consumption patterns drove the economic reconstruction and propelled European integration.
Trade is however one factor that enables and shapes economic growth. The history of the multilateral trading system is exemplary. Tariffs and Non-tariffs barriers to trade, since the Tokyo round, decreased at a fast pace and benefitted also developing countries.
The amount of literature addressing the topic of international trade continues to grow on a yearly basis given the great interdependencies between the different countries that rely on trade for their economic growth. Indeed, ever since the first trade rules and organizations have been established, the international community has made great efforts every decade to update the existing rules, adopt new rules and address the new challenges emerging because of social, technological, and economic developments. In fact, one can even say that the international regulatory framework applicable to trade is perhaps the most successful set of binding and non-binding instruments that has ever been adopted given the great degree of states compliance with these rules, not to mention the existence of retaliatory measures that nations can take in case a state refuses to respect trade rules. In comparison with other global legal fields and emerging ones, international trade represents one of the few regimes there that states comply with, has an efficient international organization addressing this issue in the form of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and one of the most important dispute settlements systems that has ever been established where the decisions made are usually followed by the different nations that usually eliminate the non-complying measures adopted. Thus, the fact that a multilateral trade system has been established and that this system has been extremely efficient and effective in addressing topics related to international trade is an accomplishment in itself, given the failure of other global regulatory frameworks to reach similar results despite the importance of the issues addressed and in many instances the urgent need for actions. It is in this context that numerous scholarly articles have made comparative analysis attempting to figure out the magic equation or the secret for which the international trade system has been extraordinarily successful. As such, numerous articles have made comparative analysis between for instance international trade law and international climate change law or other legal fields.
Nonetheless, this does not mean that this system did not face existential challenges in the past or even currently, where scholars and experts have been criticizing the system since its establishment for various reasons. Civil society organizations have also constantly voiced their concerns when it comes to the adoption of rules favoring trade on the expense of Non-Trade Concerns (NTCs). These concerns include for instance environmental matters, sustainable development, the use of exhaustible natural resources, public health issues and so on , where even specific provisions within the multilateral trade system dealt with these issues it was very often implemented in a very narrow way, such as Article XX of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) providing general exceptions, according to which states can restrict trade in specific situations. Given these existing criticisms and challenges, the international trade regime had to develop to tackle some of these issues. In particular, there was a need to acknowledge the existence of NTCs that are equally important to international trade and must be not only taken into consideration, but protected with a more consistent application of the general exception. In fact, throughout the different decades, the case law of the dispute settlement system has gradually developed from ignoring such concerns, to acknowledging their existence and to finally taking them into account when in several instances they played an important role in deciding whether trade measures restricting trade should be adopted or not. Moreover, taking such concerns into account has also opened the door to examining the interplay between the multilateral trade regime and other legal fields such as international investment law, intellectual property rights regime and international climate change law in the general context of the fragmentation of international law. Indeed, all these regimes are interconnected given that in many instances they address similar matters, but from different aspects where the rules may clash and where different international tribunals may support different legal fields depending on the ideology and purpose of the court. This is why, numerous articles have been written on these two phenomenon where some scholars were not very much optimistic about the future developments while others attempted to provide recommendations and solutions on how to address the existing challenges, given that the fragmentation of international law is not going away any time soon while same challenges are increasingly being dealt with through different regulatory frameworks requiring cooperation and communication among them. These problems represent one of the many challenges that the multilateral trade system is facing this century where the efficient functioning of the regime requires clear solutions to these problems.
Keywords: Globalization, Global Values, International Trade Law, WTO, Business, Human Rights, Non-Trade Values, International Labour Law, Climate Change, Sustainable Development, Intellectual Property, Investment Law, Arbitration, Foreign Direct Investment, Common Commercial Policy
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The word corruption derives from Latin con (with) and rumpere (break) and emphasizes how a break of integrity is what matters the most. All forms of corruption, especially bribery, are related to this break of integrity. Since the beginning of time, the corruptive phenomenon has and continues to exist.
In fact, corruption is an ongoing phenomenon that originated centuries ago, where officials in a given state used their positions to demand monetary or other benefits. Historically, no government has escaped from this phenomenon and until relatively recently, only little efforts have been employed at the international or regional levels to eliminate corruption.
Recent studies assert that without drastic improvement in the provision of education and other societal values, the reduction of these practices will not be possible. However, the believe that the phenomena is intrinsic with the functioning of all political systems is a widespread misperception which slowed down anticorruption policies at a transnational level.
In fact, this universal phenomenon persists until today, despite all the state level efforts to eradicate it and the technological developments that have occurred in the last century, where numerous high level corrupted employees and past corruption methods were busted by the police using extremely sophisticated technics. As a result, numerous stories and movies such as the “Wolf of Wall Street” and the “Inside Job” were based off these great accomplishments and highlight the depth to which corruption is deeply ingrained within the economic system. Additionally, the 2008 economic crisis highlighted the depth to which a state would go to bail out large banks and corporations despite their questionable activities resulting in the crisis. More recently, the Covid-19 pandemic has again highlighted this phenomenon as large corporations such as airline companies and even big basketball teams like the Los Angeles Lakers are being bailed out by the state on the expense of small business owners and citizens that constitute the main tax payers and which are in desperate need of money.
While monetary forms such as bribery and embezzlement are prohibited almost everywhere today, other forms of corruption such as clientelism, cronysm, and favoritism are, in varying degrees, accepted by both governments and citizens. Ethics is shaped by culture; therefore, the acceptance of what could be perceived by others as a corruptive practice greatly vary across the globe.
With the advent of globalization, interstate cooperation, trade and economic interdependence in the last century, corruption has developed greatly to suit the changes that occurred especially given the possibility of international cooperation over a network of highly corrupted groups. Such groups have emerged and created extremely sophisticated networks that go beyond the state’s and international organizations’ ability to track and address cross-borders corruption. These networks have utilized technological advancements to conduct all sorts of corrupted activities that fly under the radar and have benefitted from existing safe havens in several states that profit from such activities, mainly developing and least developing countries.
Before the ‘new globalization’, corruption was perceived as a political internal issue rather than a global one. The increase of interlinkages amongst developed and developing nations as well as the rise of civil society as a key non-state actor coupled with the advancement of multilateralism resulted in a depoliticization of corruption. Good governance is now accepted to break corruption. However, anticorruption alone could not solve the devastating effects that this practice has on society. Corruption breaches the trust amongst citizens and governors, further distancing both from the participation to the res publica. The increase in both abstentionism and populist movements (whether left or right) are typical responses of a corrupted environment in representative democracies. By contrary, autocratic ones could leverage corruption to fortify implementation of national policies by officials, further reducing the already limited space of citizen participation. Evidently, transnationalization of anticorruption policies, regardless of government forms, fills this trust gap. On another note, anticorruption could also be seen as a depoliticized and neutral governance tool balancing the excess of globalization. In fact, if anticorruption manages to become an acknowledged transnational law and governance field, national states could benefit in turn. Punishment of corrupted politicians could be therefore recognized as a task of the international community that not only has the financial means and capacity to hunt down corruption network, but also the legitimacy in light of the mobility of capital. If a corrupted politician moves resources in tax haven, the national judiciary has limited capacity to counteract this behaviour. In addition, against this background, an approach to corruption encompassing not only bribery, but other forms of undue influences over local concerns could be beneficial to align globalization with social values.
This is why, the establishment of global regulatory frameworks targeting cross-border corruption has been evolving in the last decades where numerous international agreements and non-binding instruments have been adopted to that end. These legal mechanisms were the result of events that occurred over decades, prompting states and the international community to push towards their adoption given the need for such instruments. The establishment of such mechanisms should be seen in the general framework of constant development and progress of international law and its fragmentation. In that sense, the increasing common challenges that have been recognized since the 1950s and 1960s, the emergence of new challenges, and the need for a global response have put pressure on international law to develop and progress to tackle all these matters. Therefore, the binding and nonbinding applicable rules to anticorruption are just one of the numerous international instruments established to address fields such as international trade, human rights, natural resources management, and so on. These rules are developed, because of the increasing technicalities in each of these fields and require specific knowledge and expertise as well as an interdisciplinary approach to each topic including anticorruption.
Keywords: Anticorruption, Transnationalization, Clientelism, Good Governance, Ethics, Culture, Global Challenge, Globalization, Cross-Border, Network, State, International Organizations, Multilateralism, Depoliticization, OECD, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Non-Trade Concerns
THE FULL FILE IS AVAILABLE AT: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3856343
In the current times of profound distrust for science and the crisis in global governance institutions, it is fundamental to reevaluate the role of expert and expertise in the decision-making process. Whether or not experts should be held accountable is this book’s primary focus. The reliance on experts has been a fundamental trait of technical, but also more politically-driven international organizations, and, in several instances, experts have used their position to promote their agenda. The promotion of the ‘epistemic community’ agenda have had both, partially positive such as in the case of international standard settings, and negative outcomes. Amongst the negative ones, politics, in various instances, have shifted on experts the legitimacy of ‘purely’ political decisions while in other cases, a global shared experts agenda failed to consider or misinterpreted the impacts on particular groups, often the most vulnerable. Global governance institutions are, however, resilient and adapt to changes quickly. For instance, experts could: openly disagree with particular policies promoted by their organization, call for changes from the inside of a particular epistemic community, or recognize that expertise is not enough for ‘political’ changes.
In selecting and appointing experts, the level of technicalities and technical rigidity is the pattern used to evaluate an expert’s professionalism. Ranging from law via economics to other social sciences, experts manage to find the most prominent place in driving political agenda across the globe. In addition to the expert’s background, the ideological affinity with the institution also plays a key role. As an example, the experts which ‘build’ the multilateral trading regime, proud supporters of free trade, gave little considerations in the past to the project’s broader effects. People and civil society organizations have been omitted from the policy debates. The financial crisis of 2007-2008 and the recent COVID-19 pandemic have a role in clarifying that reality is much more complex than what a simple unique vision or a dominant paradigm let us believe. Even if it is agreed that societies and human beings’ behavior could not be foreseen, experts attempt to fill in the gap amongst politics and decision making with tremendous and sometimes unnoticed consequences on society. The common wisdom on this topic is that, in light of the increasing interdependencies and difficulties of our world, experts and epistemic authority are the only reliable source for the betterment of society. This thought-provoking book manages to reopen this discussion to an unanswered question: Do we need to develop a normative and socially responsive accountability framework for experts?
Even though it was coined at the beginning of the last century, the term technocracy and expertise-based forms of governance is not anew suggestion. From the needed expertise in politics of the Plato’s philosopher king via Classics knowledge for mandarins in Imperial China to specialized knowledge of consultors in the Roman Curia, governments have extensively relied on trusted advisors to guide and inform policies. Therefore, the relationship between politics and experts is a possible lens. While politics rests on values and normative judgements, technical knowledge requires positive policy analysis and lack of emotional attachment to the object of study. These two separate dimensions mutually influence and interfere with each other. Values and normative judgement in expert reasoning automatically eschew epistemic authority and biased decisions are taken by politicians resulting in a politicization of science. Value judgments are unavoidable in expert reasoning and they should be made explicit. Same goes for the opposite. Politics should stop being guided by ideology and should consistently use tools based on statistical modelling and expert judgment, even though it is clear that neither these instruments are totally neutral or impartial. In fact, the risk for advocating for neutrality is that real struggles are back-grounded and not openly disclosed to the public.
To be effective for reducing the experts’ legitimacy deficit and the negative aspects that could arise from the relationship between the two dimensions, accountability should be reinforced under its legal dimension. The consequence in this case could be however problematic.
Keywords: Technocracy, Law, Global Governance, Good Governance, World Health Organization, WHO, COVID-19, Scientific Expertise, Accountability, Global Regulatory Scientific Institutions, Global Financial Crisis, Fake News, Donald Trump, MAGA, Brexit
FULL FILE AVAILABLE AT: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3856353
Globalization is a phenomenon of inherent complexity. As such, it is defined by a number of positive, as well as negative, traits. The seemingly inextricable links between countries - created by international trade and membership in a variety of international organizations - are seen as a guarantee and precondition of (relative) international security and peace. However, they are being questioned by various forms of nationalism, disguised in the forms of trade protectionism or feverish defence of state sovereignty. Even though globalization has managed to create unprecedented links between countries across the world, it has also made the divisions in society more visible. Events such as Brexit – a prominent example of profound political miscalculation and risk of applying instruments of direct democracy to questions of great complexity – depict a picture of the British society divided between the so-called “anywheres” and “somewheres”. It seems that our hunter-gatherer mind-set still needs to cope with the evolution of a globalized world that is constantly outpacing the ability of the human mind to manage change. Brexit is a step into the unknown for the British society as well as for the European Union – it is one of the first steps backwords in the story of the European integration. Even though this observation is not positive, this event can undoubtedly serve as a catalyst in a chain of unforeseen consequences. Considering the special relationship and ties between the United Kingdom and CARICOM, the authors of the present volume wrote a book that might potentially be a starting point for a highly topical research line in the near future. Brexit has wide-ranging ramifications, with a potential impact on the relationship between the United Kingdom and the CARICOM countries as well. As the authors note in the beginning of their book, the consequences of Brexit are not limited to the mutual relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom – and the matters within the United Kingdom, which might even have an impact on the independence of the British judiciary – but can be felt on the other side of the world. As such, it is an example of the so-called butterfly affect, in which the movement of a butterfly´s wings can cause a storm on the other side of the world.
The present book does not shy away to name the shortcomings of globalization in the field of institutional and legal frameworks. However, the motive of this form of diagnosis is inherently positive, articulating the inevitability of globalization – naturally respecting and promoting the importance of sustainable development – as it lacks any meaningful alternative capable of improving our lives. Even though states remain relevant actors, their role is balanced with the increasingly relevant role of non-state actors, ranging from individuals to companies and non-governmental organizations. Thus, the spirit and notion of collaborative governance penetrates the book as a red line and an underlying precondition for realization of the idea of sustainable development in a globalized world.
Keywords: Europe, CARICOM, Caribbean Community, unified, United Kingdom, Brexit, Pandemic, COVID-19, Governance, Transnational Law, Policy, International Relations, globalization, trade, sustainable development, SDGs, indigenous people, European Union, MERCOSUR.
THE FILE IS FULLY AVAILABLE AT: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3765473
Abstract
This book, through various differently oriented chapters, tries to give an insight on how the European Union and its multilevel model of governance must try to strike a balance between diverging interests and priorities. In particular, the EU and the European states (including the CoE’s Members) should implement all possible actions to protect individuals’ dignity, along with other important sustainable community priorities such as public health, sustainable development and the protection of the environment, social values, and fundamental freedoms. At the same time the regulations and practices should be able to build-up an appropriate business environment that is sufficiently friendly to corporate activity to permit companies to produce growth and create new job opportunities, without affecting any of the individual substantial rights and liberties. The book contains chapters providing an overview and comparison of different existing practices with constructive suggestions for future policy-making, as well as chapters dealing with more specific issues related to business and human rights.
Overall, this book attempts not only to summarize the outcomes of the most intensely debated challenges; it also tries to provide constructive criticism and valuable suggestions for the future for policymakers and legislators to move forward. Business and human rights hold many complex and intricate relations, as well as the interests of subjects who do not have an equal social and legal position. All these diverging values and opposing concerns require a very delicate and diplomatic approach in order to bring clarity and binding security for all the involved stakeholders. Nevertheless, the future outlook of the field looks promising, mainly due to the large amount of documents, frameworks, opinions, and bilateral agreements, but also thanks to the incessant and sometimes constructively obstinate activity of institutions, and national and international courts. This book has the potential to also be one of the sources for fostering incremental positive development in order to consolidate more human conditions and values in the global economy, free-trade and business, which should be primarily for humans. Not only for the privileged ones, but for all human beings.
Keywords: Business, Human Rights, Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, Corporate Accountability, International Law, Europe, European Law, Sustainable Development, UN Guiding Principles, ECHR, Public Procurement, Developing Countries, Supply Chains, Due Diligence, Duty of Vigilance, Liability, Remedies
JEL Classification: Q40, Q48, Q50, Q56, Q58, Q34, Q37, Q32, Q23, Q24, Q25, Q27, K33, K32, Q17, Q18
Suggested Citation:
Farah, Paolo Davide, Business and Human Rights in Europe: International Law Challenges (Foreword) (June 20, 2018). Paolo Davide Farah, Foreword to Angelica Bonfanti, Business and Human Rights in Europe: International Law Challenges, Transnational Law and Governance Series, Routledge Publishing (New-York/London), ISBN 9781138484672, 2018, pp. XIV - XXI. Available at SSRN: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3263766
TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL PAPER: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3263766
The guarantees and the protection of human rights, in particular socio-economic rights are shifting more and more from the public sphere, from the Governmental, Supra-Governmental and Intergovernmental level, towards the private, where corporations and various other private entities are directly or indirectly assuming public commitments and constructive undertakings. Wherein they have the objective to provide possible solutions and actions in guaranteeing welfare and the respect of these rights to a growing sphere of the citizens, targeting primarily the most powerless and fragile groups within the population.
The expansion and extent of the process of globalization is unquestionable and has gained tremendous dimensions and vast scale in recent time. There is a part of the public opinion and civil society, which is vehemently against the globalization and is afraid of its negative effects on NTCs, local societal values and traditions. These communities are making the equalization between the role of the States and international organizations responsible for adopting adequate governance, precautionary principles and rules concerning human rights and social justice, and the multinational corporations. Private entities are indeed active on the market, and directly capable of putting these rights at stakes or independently protecting these rights into practice through strict compliance as well as through voluntary actions. This means that if multinational companies operate in such a way that they undermine societal values, the public opinion, instead of simply accusing the private ownership of these actions, might consider both the States and Governments accountable, along with international organizations for not complying with their supposed duties to prevent actions that could put human life and health in danger, and also for their eventual omission to act, to take positive and incremental measures.
For this reason, the paradigm shift towards the pivotal role and significance of corporate social responsibility and accountability fostering sustainable development and facing challenges, such as poverty, climate change and environmental degradation, should not mean that the role of public good governance must decrease and the general level of trust in the private sector should automatically increase. On the contrary, the pursuit of profit and power is still strongly present in today’s business models and a solid corporate accountability approach is inevitable to reinforce domestic and international supervisory systems able to step in, whenever the holders of these socio-economic rights suffer violations.
Keywords: Corporate Accountability, Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, Human Rights, Socio-Economic Rights, Globalization, Non-Trade Concerns, NTCs, Local Communities, Investments, Environment, Business, Access to Justice, China, Cambodia, Colombia
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We live in peculiar times: on the one hand, many people — mainly in Western countries — enjoy an unprecedentedly high standard of living from a historical perspective. On the other hand, a considerable part of the population has a feeling that something went wrong, which is underscored by their feelings of discontent and uncertainty. Despite their potential to have positive impact on society, globalization and the rapid pace of technological development, including robotics and artificial intelligence, might shake up the lives of individuals as well as governance frameworks at global and national levels. The rules of play developed mainly in the 20th century can hardly keep pace with the developments of the 21st century. There is a longing for something new after the experiences with the -isms of the 20th century (fascism, socialism, capitalism etc.).
It seems that Fukuyama's argument concerning the end of history with the ultimate win of liberal democracy requires serious rethinking and readjustment. As the example of China shows, which is also part of my own research, authoritarian regimes making an effective use of the principles of market economy are able to enhance the standard of living of their populations, without any drawbacks, and gain more respect at international level without introducing substantial democratic reforms and compromising their authoritarian rule. At the same time, in the recent past, until the previous Chinese leadership, it is also true that China had been gradually expanding its own systems of public participation and local governance with Chinese cultural characteristics. This narrative brought forward by China and other authoritarian countries against the risks of liberal democracies is now even more supported in the dynamics of political discourses, because as it happened between the two World Wars and all the events that led to the Second World War, liberal democracies are again showing the potential loopholes in their own systems. The risks that anti-democratic, xenophobic, and racist movements and political parties might develop and take the power through the democratic instruments should not be underestimated. They must be closely monitored and damage control must be made immediately to intervene when the core values of liberal democracies and their Constitutions are at stake.
For all these reasons, the adherents of liberal democracy can no longer see themselves as ultimate winners in arguments with their contenders; they need to justify their position and, eventually, acknowledge the need for adjustments in their views.
However, the real danger for liberal democracy might come from its core: the model of representative democracy seems to be less and less appealing, as many people feel unrepresented by those they have elected, a sentiment often truer in periods of economic recession and/or in areas of growing economic and human poverty. A reaction to these developments might be seen in the calls for more direct democracy. Unfortunately, as we live in the age of “alternative facts”, even (at first sight) democratic instruments, such as referenda, might lead to destabilization and situations with an inherent conflict potential. The examples of the Brexit vote and the Catalan independence referendum demonstrate that the public might be vulnerable to misinformation and that elected representatives, blinded by their ambitions, might irresponsibly gamble with these democratic instruments. The similar risks of disinformation or even propaganda are also happening within regular election campaigns like in the recent presidential elections in the United States and in different European countries. These examples are often used by the proponents of representative democracy who argue that direct democracy undermines the democratic foundations of our societies and should not be used to decide about issues that are too complex. On the other hand, the calls for more direct democracy might also be seen as a sign that the model of representative democracy has shortcomings and needs certain rearrangements.
Keywords: Governance, sustainable development, global crisis, globalization, food security, China, liberal democracy, radical human approach, participatory democracy, bitcoin, block-chain, alternative forms of cooperation, buen vivir
TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL TEXT: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3206806
The topic of ‘Anthopocene’ is part of a larger narrative, which is shedding light on the underpinnings of the problem: human beings and their value systems. The concept of ‘narrative’ is crucial in this regard. Narratives convey certain values, translate complex rational or irrational theories and policies into comprehensible forms, and contribute to their acceptance by public at large. The narrative of constant growth, never-ending economic and technological progress, and dominance of humans over nature is slowly confronted with its limitations. According to Vaclav Havel, it is a paradox: humans in the age of science and technology believe they are improving their lives by mastering the laws of nature and exploiting nature. However, it is the contrary: it is these natural laws that prevail over humans and will penalize them for wrongdoing. Humans wanted to conquer nature, and as a result they destroyed it. A change of the narrative is inevitably needed: Civilization needs to be based on a revived and recreated responsibility of the humankind, respecting the boundaries of the natural world. The narratives of science need to serve this cause as well, otherwise, even the bold visions of Elon Musk and other visionaries of colonizing Mars would only be escapes from the primary task of humans, which is taking over the responsibility for our lives and lives of future generations on the planet.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has referred to climate change as ‘a change in the state of the climate that can be identified by changes in the mean and/or variability of its properties, and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer. It refers to any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity.’ The wording is slightly different from the one used by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which refers to climate change as ‘a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and that is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods.’ What is important to note here is that IPCC is more cautious than UNFCCC in terms of blaming humans for climate change. This chapter briefly examines these theoretical aspects and its impact in the international negotiations.
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Nowadays, it is impossible to ignore the voices blaming the existing systems of governance within the borderless globalization system for being incapable of adequately responding to the problems and needs of the current age. The rage and discontent of a growing portion of the population who feel they have been left aside or who feel more insecure within prosperous Western societies, is demonstrated in the growing support of anti-system parties and candidates. Most recently – last but not least – the majority vote for “Brexit” in the referendum in the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, leaves us confronted with a burning question: What went wrong?
The necessity of finding an answer to this question has never been greater than today. The growing concerns regarding progressive climate change, rapid technological development, wars and conflicts affecting different parts of the world, terrorism, migration crisis, unstable and weak job market and the general insecurity of the populous cannot simply be criticized as collective paranoia against globalization. The rising inequality or insecurity even of the middle-class related therewith puts pressure on the existing social order and elites who often fail to keep a pace with these latest developments or to adequately respond to them in a time of crisis.
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The LIBEAC project is among the few elite projects selected by the Research Executive Agency (REA) of the European Commission inside the Seventh Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development (FP7-PCRD).
Inside the 2007-2013 50 billion euros FP7-PCRD, LIBEAC belongs to the category PEOPLE-IRSES project.
This International Research Staff Exchange Scheme aims at improving international mobility of researchers among the world and especially between European countries and Third Countries partners in order to foster the emergence of multidisciplinary and multicultural research network.
This 588,000.00 IRSES project called LIBEAC officially started the 1st January 2013 and will finish the 31th December 2016.
PROJECT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Since their inception in 1998 in London to the most recent meeting in Brussels in October 2010, EU-China Summits demonstrate the importance of European and Chinese partnerships based on mutual understanding and joint efforts to overcome global problems ranging from ecological risks to economic crisis to social inequalities.
Reflecting on the issues of EU-China relationships, the project “Liberalism In Between Europe And China” (LIBEAC) aims at developing a new understanding of liberalism in its economic, political and social dimensions.
It involves a comparative analysis of the cultural differences in its interpretation and of the political discrepancies in its enforcement, in particular with respect to economic, social and environmental rights in China and Europe in Modern times. It is a multidisciplinary project based on a comparative study of European and Chinese political philosophy and political economy, legal practice and philosophy of right.
PROJECT RESEARCH BACKGROUND
Liberalism has, since earlier than the Enlightenment, implied at least the following two components: a component of economics and one of politics. Economic liberalism (at least in some of its most representative brands) assumes that the less the economy is controlled by the state, the more efficient auto-regulated free markets can be in terms of production and distribution of goods. Political liberalism, again at least most generally, assumes that the more citizens are free from control by the state, the more creative, responsible and auto-disciplined those free individuals can be in terms of production and diffusion of ideas and innovation.
Economic liberalism may therefore, under given circumstances, equate to “Capitalism”; Political Liberalism may, also under given circumstances,equate to “Democracy”.
Inasmuch as some regard Liberalism as indeed being a Western Ideology, some structural correlation is often assumed between Economic Liberalism and Political Liberalism, as well as between Capitalism and Democracy: it goes at a par with the assumption that the more developed the economy in one country, the freer the persons living in this country. Now, does Liberalism truly work as a Western Ideology? And, in any case, is this correlation stable, in particular in the case of non-Western economies? Japan has been the first example, in the Meiji times, to face this dilemma. South Korea and Taiwan followed. And China is the most significant example in our times. If Liberalism works both at the level of expected economic welfare for the people and of political rights that it endows people with, shall we expect to observe such correlation in China as well? Is China an exception to the general “rule”, regarding its peculiar cultural background (notably its Confucian heritage) or is China a counter-example demonstrating that there is nothing as such a Rule, i.e. that the correlation between economic and social liberty purported by Liberalism is merely a matter of belief?
That dual line of thought ends up equating Liberty to Creativity both in economic (scientific discoveries leading to technological innovations and leadership assumed by free entrepreneurs) and in political terms (the “rule of law” in an open society). Yet, a major economic, social and environmental issue emerges *in the face of the inequalities that Liberalism also seems to inevitably generate.* It may thus be possible and/or useful to distinguish between a Liberalism of expected welfare (on the economic side) and a Liberalism of civil and political liberties and rights on the political side. As we differentiate those, tension surfaces which is intrinsic to what some name the ‘Western Ideology of Liberalism’. This project tests this upon the course of past and present history in between Europe and China, as the European Union seeks to shape a new understanding of that relationship for the future.
PROJECT TRENDS
The project stands at the confluence of two major issues for the European Union, in terms of internal policies as well as external actions:
1) the position and role of the European Union in the World and
2) the present and future of Human Rights.
The first issue, on liberal civil society and the various types of market-enhanced economies, brings concerns such as the World Trade Organization put forth recently when rebuking China’s application to be reckoned as a “market economy”. It relates to the new partnerships that the European Union is building with China in the globalized World and in the aftermath of the sovereign debt crisis. Our project is comparative as it focuses both on relationships between the European Union and China in particular, and accommodates viewpoints from China’s neighbor Japan.
The second issue, involving the present enforcement and future potential implementation and/or revision of Human Rights concepts, is addressed by focusing principally on the political, legal and economic aspects of the concept of Liberalism, regarded as made of several traditions, from social liberalism to liberal theories of economics. The project thus aims at disclosing cultural and political differences in terms of interpretation and of enforcement of “Liberalism” in Europe and in China today. We discuss in detail theories called “liberal”, building conceptual tools and types of criterion useful for that comparison.
Discussing those issues is all the more urgent that the recent global economic crisis has enhanced earlier temptations, on both sides of the Atlantic, to incriminate third parties. Globalization is often identified as the culprit for allowing competitive Asian companies to slow down European growth and for having created unemployment in Europe while Chinese counterparts affirm that European social benefits are responsible for European debt crisis and need a severe readjustment. Both the European Union and China will benefit from a better understanding of each other and from revising some of their mutual assumptions. New economic, political and juridical realities call for such an assessment, provided that the adequate evaluating criteria are presented.
WORK PACKAGE TITLE: LEGAL ASPECTS OF LIBERALISM
Work package n°4 | Start month: 4 | End month: 44
Objectives
To define the interactions between the implementation of the rule of law and economic development
To survey the enforcement of social, labor and civil rights in China in the frame of China’s participation to WTO
To propose a comparative study of Environmental Rights in Europe and China and their connection to Human Rights in the context of globalization
Description of the Work
Task 4.1 Rule of Law and Rule by Law in China and Europe: the research aims to assess the differences in the perception of law in China and Europe. Through a comparative study of the history of law, the cultural implications of the Confucian and Aristotelian traditions for the current elaboration of law will be addressed. The consequences of such conceptual differences will be assessed regarding the problem of the definition of the Rule of Law in international organizations.
T.4.2 China’s integration to the WTO: liberalization of economy and good governance: the research aims to define the opportunities and challenges of China’s accession to the WTO. While China’s accession to the WTO is a condition for WTO rules universalization, it could also change the rules and role of WTO itself. Integrating a market with strong structural, behavioral and cultural constraints such China raised numerous questions. The challenges of the real implementation of WTO provisions throughout the territory of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) must be assessed to evaluate China’s WTO compliance and China’s TRIPs (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) compliance.
T.4.3. The Good Governance perspective will be also part of our analysis. The good governance could be a term of reference to rebalance the excessive risks of liberalization of the economy. It can gain even more importance and be seen under a new light in such a time of economical crisis. The concept of good governance is part of the broader meaning of non-trade concerns (such as sustainable development, cultural rights, labour rights, public health, social welfare, national security, food safety, access to knowledge, consumer interests and animal welfare). Good Governance in particular is important when we refer to the general stability of the markets, to good faith and other key principles which are at the roots to build up a fair market in favour of both the governments and the citizens.
The project focuses particularly on the renewable energy and the environmental sectors in order to support the development of a more rapid, sustainable and flexible industry in these fields.
Economic research area - title: “FDI and trade flows in the renewable energies and environmental industries”
The research aims to expand and deepening the knowledge of trade and foreign direct investments flows between Europe and China in the renewable energies and environmental industries so as to define/suggest:
• the priority sectors that should be targeted to stimulate Europe-China trade and investment flows;
• the obstacles, barriers and difficulties faced by European firms in initiating, maintaining and consolidating both trade and investment initiatives in China;
• the obstacles, barriers and difficulties encountered by Chinese companies investing in Europe
Engineering research area - title: “Cooperation in the mobility and building sectors”
Engineering research activity is focused on two main research areas, both related to energy efficiency and carbon dioxide reduction:
• mobility and the transportation sector;
• low carbon buildings.
The research intends to analyze the state of the art and to propose a model addressing economical, legal and technical issues which need to be faced to ensure the introduction on the Chinese market of alternative fuels and low carbon technologies and instruments in the building sector, so as to identify concrete partnering opportunities for the European industry
Legal research area - title: “The legal perspective on Europe-China trade and FDI relations” .
Critical legal issues, normative gaps and potentialities in Europe-China trade and FDI relations will be examined by researchers, who will specifically focus on:
• oil and gas offshore and renewable energy;
• environmental and labor standards and corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues.
The researchers will make use of their knowledge in international law, EU law, International investment and trade law, commercial law, environmental law and CSR. Their perspective will take into consideration both the European investment and cooperation projects in China and the main Chinese investment initiatives in Europe.
The research intends to actively contribute to promoting cooperation between Europe and China, particularly in the context of the recent financial crisis. The legal analysis is supported and enriched by the economic and engineering perspectives. The economic analysis is necessary to give the regulatory and legal research a quantitative perspective as well as data and information to perform the legal/regulatory analysis. Technical knowledge is fundamental to define specific areas to underpin partnership opportunities.
Legal research area - title: “The legal perspective on Europe-China trade and FDI relations”
1) As far as oil and gas offshore and renewable energy are concerned, the analysis moves from the assumption that in the coming decades, consumption of energy will increase substantially. It is an issue of paramount importance for the oil and gas importing countries such as China.
Therefore a) the identification of new energy resources; b) the development of renewable energy sources and c) the integration of energy efficient products and services will assume a central importance. Nowadays, China is investing in all fields. In particular, it leads exploitation activities of offshore oil resources with the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), in cooperation with foreign multinational companies operating in the extractive sector. From a legal standpoint, this WP deals with the most controversial aspects of the discipline of international energy sector. Particular attention is paid to the WTO legal framework, whose rules, although partially inadequate, are applied to products and energy services. In order to facilitate the development of China-EU cooperation, the WP will also deepen understanding of international and EU rules on investments. The relevant Chinese laws on cooperation with private investors in the exploitation of offshore resources or legislation relating to marine and environmental protection will be studied, as well as the rules governing intellectual property rights related to technological development. Finally methods for peaceful settlement of disputes arising from the activities concerned will be analyzed.
2) As far as the antidumping regulation is concerned, it refers to the legal framework enabling retaliation against the strategy by which commercial property is exported at prices below the price normally charged by the producer in the home market. Dumping is a business practice that distorts the normal market balance and can cause significant damage to domestic industries. The field is regulated at international level by the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of GATT, which lays down the framework for anti-dumping legislation. The agreement does not expressly prohibit dumping, but it aims to remove the distortion. For the European market, the area is within the exclusive competence of the EU. The WP aims at analyzing the Chinese and the European Union anti-dumping legislation as well as relevant disputes between the EU and China, specifically in the biofuel sector, in order to examine the potentials and the limits of the current legislations and its grey areas.
Task 3.1 Oil and gas offshore and renewable energy
The first research activity is carried out through different steps aiming at: collecting of the relevant legal material; identify the international legal instruments involved in the regulation of the topic; analyze the international, European and domestic relevant case-laws. At the end of the research activity, the categorization and storage of the material collected takes place, as well as the dissemination of results obtained.
3.2 Anti-dumping
The second research activity follows the same methodological phases. The first one is related to the collection of the relevant legal material and to the identification of the international legal instruments involved in the regulation of the topic. Then the international, European and domestic relevant case-laws are examined. At the end of the research activity, the categorization and storage of the material collected takes place, as well as the dissemination of results obtained.
3.3 Environmental and labor standards and corporate social responsibility (CSR)
The third research line is focused on environmental and labor standards and CSR. Collection of the relevant legal material is followed by the identification of the international legal instruments involved in the regulation of the topic. Then the international, European and domestic relevant case-laws are examined. The research activity ends with the categorization and storage of the material collected takes place, as well as with the dissemination of results obtained.
3.4 Integration of the results with economic and engineering studies, and definition of policy and legal implications of the findings.
PEOPLE
MARIE CURIE ACTIONS
International Research Staff Exchange Scheme
Call: FP7-PEOPLE-2010-IRSES
The project “Evaluating Policies for Sustainable Energy Investments: towards an integrated approach on national and international stage” (EPSEI) aims at improving the integration of methodologies and tools concerning the evaluation of investments for sustainable energy.
Scienfitic Coordinator: Prof. Paolo Davide Farah, PhD.
For information : paolofarah@yahoo.com
The institutions participating to this project are:
1) University of Turin, Faculty of Law, Italy (Coordinator)
2) University of Lund – Department of Political Science, Lund, Sweden
3) Université de Provence, Center of Comparative Epistemology & Ergology (CEPERC), France
4) Tsinghua University, Center for Environmental, Natural Resources & Energy Law (THCEREL), Beijing, China
5) Tomsk State University, Department of Law, Russia
6) Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES) in Beijing, China
7) Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change (CMCC), Venice, Italy
8) University of Piedmont Oriental, Faculty of Law, Italy.
9) gLAWcal - Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development, United Kingdom
10 Wuhan University, Law School, China
Fundamental trends in the European Union and the world at large provide an increasingly important policy agenda for financing sustainable energy in terms of energy efficiency, innovation in energy exploitation and development of renewable resources. The long-range forecasts for investments and energy market are determined by highly interconnected environmental, geological and technological research despite scientific differences in modelling the scenarios and interpreting the data. The medium-range forecasts for investments and energy market largely depend on geopolitical considerations and internal pressure by public opinion and stakeholders. States, firms and other actors play their game within the current legal framework at the international, regional and national level. Accordingly, the proper policy design for the sustainable energy needs to be complemented by research on the legal, regulatory and geopolitical side.
However, the characteristics of social sciences which drive their approach to such issues are determined by their fragmentation into sectoral domains and national traditions. It is commonly agreed that there are great benefits in overcoming the disciplinary divisions combining scientific, social and economic considerations in order to assess the policy impact of sustainable energy. The evaluation of the policies for sustainable energy investments requires to connect several
national approaches on such topics, not only in Europe, where the fragmentation of social sciences into national traditions is a matter of fact. In turn, the global nature of the questions addressed by the project needs to be implemented through an IRSES programme in order to strengthen the research partnerships between European research organisations and research organisations from crucial world regions as far as European interests for energy matters are concerned.
A. International and Comparative Law:
Department of Law, University of Turin;
Department of Business and Territorial Studies, University of Eastern Piedmont;
Center for Environmental, Natural Resources & Energy Law, TsinghuaUniversity;
Department of Law, TomskStateUniversity
B. Geopolitics and Geoeconomics:
Department of Business and Territorial Studies, University of Eastern Piedmont;
Center for Environmental, Natural Resources & Energy Law, Tsinghua University;
Department of Political Science, University of Lund
C. Epistemology and Politics of Energy:
Center of Comparative Epistemogoly & Ergology, Universite de Provence;
Center for Environmental, Natural Resources & Energy Law, Tsinghua University;
Department of Political Science, University of Lund.
The project is also structured to strengthen the research partnerships between core competences from social sciences and key competences from other sciences
D. Environmental Economics and Managerial Economics:
Department of Business and Territorial Studies, University of Eastern Piedmont;
Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change;
Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences;
E. Geology and Environmental studies:
Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change;
Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences;
Department of Law, Tomsk State University.
This project has received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 269327 Acronym of the Project: EPSEI, Coordinated by University of Turin – Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza. For any information about the EPSEI project and its objectives, please address your queries by email to the Vice-Scientific Coordinator: paolofarah@yahoo.com
Three conferences were organized at University of Turin, Department of Law and Center of Advanced Studies on Contemporary China (CASCC) in Turin (Italy), at Maastricht University Faculty of Law (Maastricht) and at China-EU School of Law and Tsinghua University School of Law in Beijing (China).
http://paolofarah.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/conference-leaflet-turin-november-23-24-20111.pdf
http://paolofarah.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/conference-maastricht-january-19-20-2011-final.pdf
http://paolofarah.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/beijing-conference-january-14-15-2012-final.pdf
As part of the gLAWcal - Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (United Kingdom) results and book series, a book was published CHINA’S INFLUENCE ON NON-TRADE CONCERNS IN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAW, Climate Change, Sustainable Development, Protection of Environment, Social, Economic and Cultural Rights, Labour Rights, Public Health, Food and Product Safety, Global Law and Sustainable Development Book Series, Routledge Publishing (London/New-York), September 2016, pp. 1-584
Cover, Table of Contents, Forewords, Introduction and Acknowledgements can be downloaded at the following website:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2876883
To purchase the book, you can refer to the publisher website:
https://www.routledge.com/Chinas-Influence-on-Non-Trade-Concerns-in-International-Economic-Law/Farah-Cima/p/book/9781409448488
Book Review, Julien Chaisse, China’s International Investment Strategy: Bilateral, Regional, and Global Law and Policy. International Economic Law Series. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2019, 560 pp, ISBN 9780198827450, $135.00 In this book, Professor Julien Chaisse, a renowned scholar in the field of international economic law and China-expert, focuses on one of the countries which are proactively (re)shaping our understanding of the international order: the People’s Republic of China (PRC or China). This edited book presents, in a comprehensive, accurate and organized manner, the gradual definition of the China’s investment strategy. This book’s scope includes reflections on the international investment regime, taxation, national economic reforms, mediation, competition law and anti-monopoly law, State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), corruption, and the highly-debated China’s Belt and Road initiative (BRI) (object of another book edited by Professor Chaisse). Most of the leading legal scholars and professionals who contributed to the book are based in Asia and working on a daily basis on issues relating to China. This diverse group succeeded in offering different, relevant and innovative contributions. The question that the book attempts to answer is whether China is aligned with the dogmas of international investment and trade law. China’s involvement in the global context is in partial contradiction with the national situation, which formed the basis for many commentators’ critical views of China’s accession to the WTO as a risk to the multilateral trading system in the long term. Did this accession lead to free trade or the end of market-based reform of the national economy? Environmental protection or market domination of the environmental industry? Aid for development or aid for resources?
Keywords: China, Investment, Law, Bilateral, Regional, Global, International Economic Law, Belt and Road Initiative, WTO, World Trade Organization, TFA, Trade Facilitation Agreement, SOEs, State Owned Enterprises
The text is available at : https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=629289
The conference was opened by the keynote speech of Dr. Daniel Klein from the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and was articulated into five panels dedicated to the following topics: International Law and Climate Change: Interlinkages With Health (chaired by prof. Stéphanie Dagron, University of Geneva); Climate Change and the Right to a Healthy Environment (chaired by Dr. Pedro A. Villarreal, Max Planck Institute); Biodiversity and Human Health (chaired by prof. Gian Luca Burci, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva); Links Between Food Security, Food Safety and Environmental Issues (chaired by prof. Paolo Farah of West Virginia University and prof. Kirk W. Junker of the University of Köln); Legal Strategies for Air, Water and Chemical Pollution (chaired by prof. Stefania Negri, University of Salerno).
Sixteen speakers (from Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Russia, Spain, Iran and the USA) were selected among experts working in the fields of international and EU health and environmental law through a call for papers launched in April 2018.
Prof. Stefania Negri, holder of the Jean Monnet Chair Healthy, presented the Chair's research project "Environmental health in international and European law" and announced the publication of an edited book with the contribution of 27 distinguished scholars and PhD students from Europe, Canada and the USA.
QATAR UNIVERSITY, CENTER FOR LAW AND DEVELOPMENT
October 2-3, 2022
In recent years, there are growing concerns about emerging technologies and, more in general, on the impact of science and technology on the society as a whole. Science and technology are often perceived as negative, elitist and consequently disputable at the point of creating dissent and distrust in increasing shares of the population. This type of dissent can be showed against Governments, or multinational companies possessing the technology or exploiting it for commercial reasons. In addition, there are also protests and contestations on how certain technologies collect information and use it for different scopes than the ones for which they have been collected.
By contrast, science and technology have also essential roles in pursuing the improvements of the society, granting access to technology is an extremely important tool for educational purposes in developing and developed countries, it can save lives when directly implemented in the health sector in both the rich and poor countries or regions or when they facilitate access to water or food or energy in countries where this access is not available to all, in particular the most vulnerable groups in the poorest or most disadvantaged countries.
In COVID-19 times, among the most important health crisis around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) still lists the death by road accidents, especially among adults as a growing concern. According to the global status report on road safety 2018 by World Health Organization, deaths from road traffic crashes have increased to 1.35 million a year (average of 3 700 people dying on the world’s roads every day). One of the saddest statistics revealed in this report is that road accident is the number one cause of death for children and young adults globally. There are several reasons why adults are involved in fatal road accidents: (1) over-confident, (2) poor assessment of hazard, (3) prevalent risk taking, (4) speeding, (5) not wearing seat belts, (6) mobile phone usage and (7) driving at night. Almost all of these factors are behavioral related, which are improvable through well-designed interventions. Today, almost everyone uses a smart hand phone, especially youths. These smarts phones are equipped with accurate built-in GPS and are portable telematics devices.
Based on the above literature, the main aim of this call for papers is to address telematics and road safety topics to reduce risky driving behavior amongst drivers. This can occur through a feedback mechanism customized for each driver based on risk profiling through obtained telematics data. Artificial intelligence will be designed in the feedback mechanism to provide such customized feedback. The secondary aim will be to create indirect interventions through the usage of telematics data for traffic violations citations and UBI without infringing data security and privacy.
In addition, this conference wants also to address which instruments and means can be enacted to insure for autonomous vehicles more broadly and the extent to which the use of certain insurance technologies (like telematics) is going to increase inequality and discrimination against those from lower socio-economic levels.
Based on the aforementioned, this call for papers is seeking contributions addressing the following topics with a focus on regulations, policies, science and technology at domestic, international, comparative and transnational perspective:
The Relations among Science, Technology and Society
Critical Theories on Science and Technology
Insurance Companies, Regulatory Authorities and Telematics
Blockchain Technologies, Autonomous Vehicles and the Insurance Industries
Obligations of the Insurer and the Insured in Autonomous Vehicles
Pricing and Compensation for Injury Caused by Autonomous Vehicles
Balancing the Use of Insurance Technologies (including telematics), Equality Principles and Non-Discrimination
Scientific Developments for Existing Mobile/Smartphone Application in Road Safety
Mobile Applications (apps) that is able to monitor driving behavior with an artificial intelligence (AI)
Nudging, Behavioral Sciences changes in drivers
Interventions of risky driving behavior by using feedback messages from telematics devices
Social sciences in using telematics devices for direct behavior interventions
Legal developments from the perspective of using telematics devices for traffic violations and usage-based insurance
National Insurance Laws Applicable to Telematics
Drafting of Changes to National and International Policies related to the use of telematics and road safety
Road Safety as a Public Health Issue
Privacy concern in terms of data sharing (data handled by 3rd party), especially driving data that could be used against them (accident claims purpose or causing accidents)
Data security aspects: (a) issues with “being monitored”, (b) how open are drivers to having their behavior monitored, (c) data being used by law enforcement or criminal/civil actions
Admissibility of telematics data for legal matters – especially traffic violations (evidence of authenticity)
Should insurance be Usage Based Insurance as a means to promote road safety Innovation.
New Technological Developments Through Citizen’s Science in a Comparative Perspective
Business and Human Rights, Industry Standards and Regulations, Impact Investing
The Role of Intellectual Property, Technology Transfer and Know-How
Bridging the Gap Between Business and Government
Public-Private Partnerships
The Role of Public Administration and the Law in Questioning and Supervision the So-Called “Disruptive Technologies”
Third World Approaches to International Law Regarding IP Law and Technology
Any other topic that is of relevance to this call for papers
Venue and Dates
A conference will take place online.
Applications
Applications must be submitted by July 30,2022 via email to the attention of Imad Antoine Ibrahim (imad.ibrahim@qu.edu.qa) and Paolo Davide Farah (paolo.farah@glawcal.org.uk) and also to the following email address: research@glawcal.org.uk
Please include the following information:
• The author’s name and affiliation;
• A 300-word abstract [Word file or PDF];
• The author’s CV, including a list of relevant publications, if applicable;
• The author’s contact details, including e-mail address and phone number;
Eligibility
The international conference will take place in person, on the premises of the Qatar University, Center for Law and Development (CLD)on October 2-3, 2022
Publication Opportunities
The organizers have plans to publish the contributions and intend to submit a book proposal to such publishers as Palgrave MacMillan or other prestigious international publishers.
Conference Chairs
Imad Antoine Ibrahim, Qatar University, College of Law, Center for Law and Development (CLD), Doha, Qatar.
Paolo Davide Farah, West Virginia University, John D. Rockefeller IV School of Policy and Politics, West Virginia, United States and gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development, UK.
Organizing Institutions
The international conference is organized by Qatar University, Center for Law and Development (CLD), Qatar. The event is in collaboration with gLAWcal - Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development, UK, West Virginia University, Rockefeller School of Policy and Politics, WVU Eberly College Interdisciplinary Research Collaborative on Global Challenges and Local Response Initiative, USA and the American Society of International Law (ASIL) Interest Group on International Law and Technology.
30 JUNE AND 1 JULY
UNIVERSITY OF MESSINA, PIAZZA PUGLIATTI, 1 , 98122, MESSINA ME, ITALY
ABSTRACT SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 30 APRIL 2022
AFTER THE DEADLINE THE ABSTRACTS WILL BE ASSESSED IF ADDITIONAL LOTS ARE STILL AVAILABLE
Eberly College Interdisciplinary Research Collaborative on Global Challenges and Local Response Initiatives
LIBERALISM AND ECOLOGY IN THE ANTHROPOCENE
CALL FOR PAPER
The European Society of International Law (ESIL) Interest Group on International Environmental Law is organizing an interdisciplinary International Conference on “Liberalism and Ecology in the Anthropocene” to be held at the University of Messina, Italy 30 June –1 July2022 in collaboration with West Virginia University, USA. This event is supported by the ESIL Interest Groupon International Legal Theory and Philosophy and co-organized by the Italian Society of Philosophy of Law (SIFD).
‘Liberalism’ is a term with many implications: it can be understood as a doctrine, and as the endorsement of either economic liberalism or political liberalism (i.e., the protection of individual rights against the threat of the intervention of the State or other institutions).
Against this theoretical background, the present workshop aims at discussing the foundational premises of liberalism from the perspective of both the current debate on the global ecological crisis and the cluster of problems posed by the so-called ‘Age of the Anthropocene’.
In fact, especially if we look at the axis which both bridges and separates Eastern and Western political traditions, a number of urgent questions seem to emerge as far as protection of the environment and balancing individual freedom with environmental equilibrium are concerned. The retrospective and prospective thinking offered by moral and legal philosophy provides a useful tool in this enquiry. Moral and legal philosophy require developing an understanding of the basic components of principles, how and why these principles are formulated as part of unwritten moral codes or laws, and the continuing rationale for such principles. For instance, the principle of inter- generational equity is central to current debates on the impact of human behaviour on the climate, and has longstanding roots in developing international environmental law, as well as specialist legal regimes relating to common heritage of mankind, and aboriginal title land and land-related rights. The principle of inter-generational equity essentially promotes the mindful usage and development of natural and cultural resources to ensure these are not passed onto future generations in a worse condition than which they were received. But why should future concerns trouble the minds of those with immediate wants and needs? Here, there is a tradition of liberal philosophy that offers a rationale corresponding to this question.
LIBERALISM AND ECOLOGY IN THE ANTHROPOCENE
AREA OF INTEREST
We welcome papers addressing the following questions(and akin):
•Who is responsible, from a liberal point of view, for the environmental policies of today, with respect to the consequences produced for the rights of future generations?
•What is the ethical grounding of environmental rights in the age of Anthropocene?
•How can the Anthropocene be conceptualized at different spatial, temporal, and institutional levels?
•How can the Anthropocene can integrate temporal and spatial aspects of human-planetary interaction?
•Are the rights of future generations based on a legal fiction and, if so, how are they compatible with the model of liberal societies?
•Is there a right to develop as well as a right to undevelop?
•Are environmental duties subsumed and snuffed out by environmental rights?
•How have regimes such as the concept of the common heritage of mankind in international law slowed down development?
VENUES AND DATES
The international conference will take place in person, on the premises of the University of Messina on 30 June –1 July 2022.
APPLICATIONS
Applications can be submitted via e-mail to both the following addresses: paolo.farah@glawcal.org.uk, alessio.logiudice@unime.it, by 30 April 2022 (after the deadline the abstracts will be assessed if additional slots are still available. Please reach out to the conference chairs for information).
Please include the following information:
The author’s name and affiliation; A 500-700-word abstract;
The author’s CV, including a list of relevant publications, if applicable; The author’s contact details, including e-mail address and phone number;
The author's preferred date to present at the conference and their preference to present in person or online;
Co-authored papers are also welcomed.
ELIGIBILITY
This call is open to all senior and junior academics, as well as, business professionals and practitioners who are members of international organizations or NGOs that work in these areas.
PUBLICATION OPPORTUNITIES
The conference organizers have publication plans for the presented papers. The precise nature and format of publication will be discussed in more detail during the conference, however, the organizers preliminary vision is to publish an edited book with an international publisher or a special section or special issue of a Journal.
CONFERENCE CHAIRS AND COORDINATORS
PAOLO D. FARAH
West Virginia University, USA & gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development, United Kingdom
ALESSIO LO GIUDICE
University of Messina, Italy
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Chamu Kuppuswamy (University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom), Martin Svec (Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic), Ozlem Ulgen (University of Nottingham, United Kingdom), Carmela Panella(University of Messina,Italy) Daria Boklan (HSE University)
30 JUNE AND 1 JULY
UNIVERSITY OF MESSINA, PIAZZA PUGLIATTI, 1 , 98122, MESSINA ME, ITALY
ABSTRACT SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 30 APRIL 2022
AFTER THE DEADLINE THE ABSTRACTS WILL BE ASSESSED IF ADDITIONAL LOTS ARE STILL AVAILABLE
Eberly College Interdisciplinary Research Collaborative on Global Challenges and Local Response Initiatives
LIBERALISM AND ECOLOGY IN THE ANTHROPOCENE
CALL FOR PAPER
The European Society of International Law (ESIL) Interest Group on International Environmental Law is organizing an interdisciplinary International Conference on “Liberalism and Ecology in the Anthropocene” to be held at the University of Messina, Italy 30 June –1 July2022 in collaboration with West Virginia University, USA. This event is supported by the ESIL Interest Groupon International Legal Theory and Philosophy and co-organized by the Italian Society of Philosophy of Law (SIFD).
‘Liberalism’ is a term with many implications: it can be understood as a doctrine, and as the endorsement of either economic liberalism or political liberalism (i.e., the protection of individual rights against the threat of the intervention of the State or other institutions).
Against this theoretical background, the present workshop aims at discussing the foundational premises of liberalism from the perspective of both the current debate on the global ecological crisis and the cluster of problems posed by the so-called ‘Age of the Anthropocene’.
In fact, especially if we look at the axis which both bridges and separates Eastern and Western political traditions, a number of urgent questions seem to emerge as far as protection of the environment and balancing individual freedom with environmental equilibrium are concerned. The retrospective and prospective thinking offered by moral and legal philosophy provides a useful tool in this enquiry. Moral and legal philosophy require developing an understanding of the basic components of principles, how and why these principles are formulated as part of unwritten moral codes or laws, and the continuing rationale for such principles. For instance, the principle of inter- generational equity is central to current debates on the impact of human behaviour on the climate, and has longstanding roots in developing international environmental law, as well as specialist legal regimes relating to common heritage of mankind, and aboriginal title land and land-related rights.The principle of inter-generational equity essentially promotes the mindful usage and development of natural and cultural resources to ensure these are not passed onto future generations in a worse condition than which they were received. But why should future concerns trouble the minds of those with immediate wants and needs? Here, there is a tradition of liberal philosophy that offers a rationale corresponding to this question.
LIBERALISM AND ECOLOGY IN THE ANTHROPOCENE
AREA OF INTEREST
We welcome papers addressing the following questions(and akin):
•Who is responsible, from a liberal point of view, for the environmental policies of today, with respect to the consequences produced for the rights of future generations?
•What is the ethical grounding of environmental rights in the age of Anthropocene?
•How can the Anthropocene be conceptualized at different spatial,temporal, and institutional levels?
•How can the Anthropocene can integrate temporal and spatial aspects of human-planetary interaction?
•Are the rights of future generations based on a legal fiction and, if so, how are they compatible with the model of liberal societies?
•Is there a right to develop as well as a right to undevelop?
•Are environmental duties subsumed and snuffed out by environmental rights?
•How have regimes such as the concept of the common heritage of mankind in international law slowed down development?
VENUES AND DATES
The international conference will take place in person, on the premises of the University of Messina on 30 June –1 July 2022.
APPLICATIONS
Applications can be submitted via e-mail to both the following addresses: paolo.farah@glawcal.org.uk, alessio.logiudice@unime.it, by 30 April 2022 (after the deadline the abstracts will be assessed if additional slots are still available. Please reach out to the conference chairs for information).
Please include the following information:
The author’s name and affiliation; A 500-700-word abstract;
The author’s CV, including a list of relevant publications, if applicable; The author’s contact details, including e-mail address and phone number;
The author's preferred date to present at the conference and their preference to present in person or online;
Co-authored papers are also welcomed.
ELIGIBILITY
This call is open to all senior and junior academics, as well as, business professionals and practitioners who are members of international organizations or NGOs that work in these areas.
PUBLICATION OPPORTUNITIES
The conference organizers have publication plans for the presented papers. The precise nature and format of publication will bediscussed in more detail during the conference, however, the organizers preliminary vision is to publish an edited book with an international publisher or a special section or special issue of a Journal.
CONFERENCE CHAIRS AND COORDINATORS
PAOLO D. FARAH
West Virginia University, USA & gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development, United Kingdom
ALESSIO LO GIUDICE
University of Messina, Italy
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Chamu Kuppuswamy (University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom), Martin Svec (Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic), Ozlem Ulgen (University of Nottingham, United Kingdom), Carmela Panella(University of Messina,Italy) Daria Boklan (HSE University)
Dates
APRIL 27 AND 28 (HYBRID)
MAY 19 AND 20 (ONLINE)
JUNE 16 AND 17 (ONLINE)
INTRODUCTION
Regulating climate change, human health, human genome, circular economy, pandemics, nanoscience, sus- tainable development, food safety and security would not be possible without objective and scientifically sound information. In these science-based areas, scientific arguments and proceedings have often been a way to achieve political agreements in practice (norms and standards). However, in recent times, sound science data has been put in doubt. This is partly caused by the diversity of sources and ideology of scientific information. Since the role of science in policymaking and public administration is under fire domestically and internationally and scientific data are relativized in the post-truth era, the very foundations of rule of law are undermined. Along with this necessity to reassess the importance of evidence-based legislation, citizens should be a part of and brought back into the policy process. Inclusive public engagement is therefore not only pivotal to guarantee the legitimacy and legitimization of policy, but also to align science and technology progress to society’s needs. Laws, regulations and policies could bring alignments between the scientific community, policymakers and citizens by providing a framework aimed at increasing trust between them. This is particularly relevant in the areas of energy, environment and, climate.
The abundance of natural resources in the Appalachian region coupled with federal and state level incentives for energy companies bring positive spillovers not only with regards to job creation, but also energy transition. Particular attention will be paid, in this conference, to case studies in the US (including, but not limited to, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Kentucky and Tennessee)and to the identification of different answers in the energy field between the state and federal levels. In addressing energy, a multiscalar and multilevel perspective is essential to better grasp the peculiarities of energy policy. Because of the transnational nature of the environmental crises, the geographical coverage of the conference is however not limited to the US. Multilateral, regional, state, and city responses help to better design and formulate national energy policy. Therefore, we strongly encourage submissions that focus on national and local experiences inside and outside of the US. European Countries are also addressing similar issues as the US such as inadequacies of the national grid for integrating renewables and for power distribution, energy diversification of the national portfolio and increasing energy security. As an example, article 194 TFUE is focused on ensuring the functioning of the market and the security of supply, promoting efficiency and the inter-connection of energy networks.
Any paper submission on the experiences from Global South countries would be also an asset. Considering the challenges of environmental degradation, the mainstreaming of scientifically dubious approaches to energy and environmental policy, the worsening of climate conditions, and the increasing participation of concerned citizens in environmental protests and movements, the conference will focus on energy, environment and climate and encourages different perspectives on these topics. One of these perspective research areas, Science, Technology, and Society, in fact, involves different disciplines and expertise including public policy, public administration, geography, sociology, anthropology, history, political philosophy, law (including comparative and international law), communication, as well as other disciplines in humanities, social sciences and sciences disciplines.
AREAS OF INTEREST
I. Public Engagement in Science for Energy Transition
Promoting an energy transition that works for all depends upon shared prosperity, sound science and the development of appropriate technology that is clean, affordable and sustainable. What is the role of public engagement in science in advancing energy transition? Science can serve as a means to enhance the understanding of citizens, shape social debate, inform public policy and implement policies for the purposes of sustainable development. Yet, the role of science in policymaking and industrial decision-making for promoting energy transitions is under fire domestically and internationally. Not only is evidence-based science necessary for law and policy, but also for the public to be able to actively participate in scientific inquiry and shape the policy process. Inclusive public engagement in science for energy transition is therefore not only pivotal to guarantee the legitimacy and legitimization of future energy policy, but also to align science and technology to society’s needs.
What is the scope of public engagement in energy transition research?
What are the most important (trans)disciplinary energy transition research lines of inquiry and how are different publics engaged?
What ethical, moral and political assumptions underly certain lines of inquiry in energy transition research?
How do we evaluate the appropriateness of various new energy technologies?
How will energy transition research be funded - publicly, privately?
Who will be empowered to participate in energy transition research?
What role do land-grant universities play in energy transition research?
II. Investment, Innovation and Intellectual Property in a Global Energy Transition
Corporate investment in research and development of renewable and other energy transition technologies depends a great deal upon regulatory frameworks and intellectual property regimes that protect innovation in the energy sector. Global competition in this sector has raised complex national and transnational legal challenges in the protection of creative research and technology development. Big data's, and other emerging technologies, role in the environmental field remain underexamined in literature and require further research. These technologies have the potential to play an important role in the global energy transition.
How to bridge technology transfer and energy innovation?
How to design an appropriate IPRs Regime for energy transition?
What is the role of Intellectual Property, Technology Transfer and Know-How in the energy transition?
What is the role of State and Non-State Actors in questioning and supervising the energy transition?
How to leverage emerging technologies for the energy transition?
III. Affordability, Commoning and Innovation in the Regional Energy Transition
Energy transition is often envisaged as a global affair. International treaties, national investments, and global corporate actors dominate the news headlines. Energy transition has so far been framed as a task in the hands of private businesses. Indeed, energy transitions will take shape through regional, municipal and other local implementation efforts. By doing so, positive trickle down effects could be gained along with a better alignment with local people's needs and priorities. Over the next few years, we are likely to find more and more renewable energy transition initiatives led by cities, counties and even regional development actors. What we really need is a shift in the perspective by looking at ways to understand the transition as a common good of humanity at the service of the local.
How to engage local State and Non State actors for the energy transition?
Which stories and incentives have cities, counties and regional development actors already put in place for the energy transition?
Why and how do we strengthen the relationship between Natural Resources and Community Development?
What is the role of Public-Private Partnerships in the Energy transition?
How to develop innovative public-private partnership for shifting the focus from profit maximization to social benefits?
How to craft inclusive Energy Policy for Sustainable Economic and Community Development at the local level?
How to scale up renewable energy projects implemented at the local level?
What are the policies (i.e., Benefit Sharing Agreements, Industrial Reorganization and Job Creation) to boost Innovation and Energy Efficiency with the local dimension at the center ?
How to draw from experiences and initiatives from the Global South to facilitate the energy transition in the US?
VENUES AND DATES
The international conference will follow an hybrid format. It is organized by three core themes, divided in three 2-days events, to facilitate the participation of speakers from around the world. On April 27 and 28, 2022 the conference will be held both in person at West Virginia University, Morgantown, USA and online with an hybrid format. The May and June dates will be fully online.
APRIL 27 AND 28 (HYBRID)
MAY 19 AND 20 (ONLINE)
JUNE 16 AND 17 (ONLINE)
APPLICATION
Applications should be submitted via the following Google Form (https://forms.gle/JCSF2J6hTbWZYHYZA) by March 25, 2022. The abstract submitted after the deadline will be assessed on a rolling basis. If you need any information, please contact the Conference Chair at the following email address: paolofarah@yahoo.com
Please include the following information in the google form:
The author’s name and affiliation;
A 500-700-word abstract;
The author’s CV, including a list of relevant publications, if applicable;
The author’s contact details, including e-mail address and phone number;
The author's preferred date to present at the conference and their preference to present in person or online;
Co-authored papers are also welcomed.
ELIGIBILITY
This call is open to all senior and junior academics, as well as, business professionals and practitioners who are members of international organizations or NGOs that work in these areas.
June 30, 2022
University of Messina, Piazza Pugliatti, 1 , 98122, Messina, Italy
June 30, 2022
Registration Link: Webinar Registration - Zoom: https://wvu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2q0CctaIRD-RrDxmfJaWQw
9:30 - 10:15
Welcoming Remarks
Salvatore Cuzzocrea, Rector of University of Messina (Italy)
Francesco Astone, Director of the Department of Law, University of Messina (Italy)
Welcome Addresses and Presentation of the Theme by the Conference Chairs
Paolo Farah
West Virginia University, Rockefeller School of Policy and Politics (USA) & gLAWcal (UK) – Member of the Board of the European Society of International Law (ESIL)
Alessio Lo Giudice
University of Messina, Department of Law (Italy)
10:15 - 13:00
Inaugural Panel
Chair: Carmela Panella, University of Messina, Department of Law (Italy)
Chamundeeswari Kuppuswamy, Hertfordshire Law School (UnitedKingdom) – Convener of the ESIL Interest Group on International Environmental Law
Ferdinando Menga, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Department of Law, Caserta (Italy)
11:00 - 11:30 Coffee Break
Andrea Porciello, University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro, Department of Law, Economics and Sociology (Italy)
Ozlem Ulgen, University of Nottingham (United Kingdom) – Chair of the ESIL Interest Group on International Legal Theory and Philosophy
13:00 - 15:00 Lunch Break
15:00 - 16:45
PANEL 1
Chair: Grazia Vitale, University of Messina, Department of Law (Italy)
Louis J. Kotzé, North-West University (South Africa); University of Lincoln (UK); Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), Potsdam (Germany)
Sam Adelman, University of Warwick (UK); Nelson Mandela University (South Africa); North-West University (South Africa)
Environmental Law and the Unsustainability of Sustainable Development: A Tale of Disenchantment and of Hope
Jolein Holtz, Leiden University, Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies (The Netherlands)
An (Onto)logical Solution to the Ecological Crises: Bringing Collective Rights to Bear on the Anthropocene
Moritz Caspar Vinken, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law Heidelberg (Germany)
Fighting Fire with Fire? The Principle of Sustainable Development: Rooting Anthropocentrism and Economic Liberalism firmly within Climate Change Governance
16:45 - 18:45
PANEL 2
Chair: Ferdinando Menga, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Department of Law, Caserta (Italy)
Mihika Poddar, University of Oxford (United Kingdom) & West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences - NUJS (India)
Re-imagining Human Rights: Forging Legal Tools to Address the Climate Crisis
Guglielmo Ciaccio, University of Pisa (Italy)
Humanity and Nature. From a Relationship of Domination to a Relationship of Co-Existence and Co-Essentiality.
Francesca Di Pietro, University of Messina (Italy)
The Role of Individual in the Anthropocene
20:00 – Conference Dinner for Chairs and Speakers
July 1, 2022
Registration Link: Webinar Registration - Zoom: https://wvu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SCjmSfleTqmyxOJp_9cK1A
9:00 - 11:00
PANEL 3
Chair: Chamundeeswari Kuppuswamy, Hertfordshire Law School (UnitedKingdom)
Klaus Geiselhart, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institute of Geography (Germany)
What is Libertarian Extremism?
Claudia Atzeni, University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro (Italy)
Liberalism, Ecology, and the Process of European Integration.
Michael Ioannidis, European Central Bank and Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg (Germany)
Ecology and (Liberal) Monetary Policy
Franz Gatzweiler, Urban Health and Wellbeing: a Systems Approach (ISC-IAP-ISUH), International Science Council (ISC), Institute of Urban Environment (IUE), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) (Xiamen, China)
Institutional and Complexity Perspectives on the Transformation Challenge towards Ecological Civilization
11:00 - 11:30 Coffee Break
11:30 - 13:15
PANEL 4
Chair: Martin Svec, Masaryk University (Czech Republic) and gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (UK)
Michael Kalis, IKEM – Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility (Germany); University of Greifswald – IFZO Interdisciplinary Research Centre for the Baltic Sea Region (Germany)
Intergenerational Equity or Intertemporal Rights? – Timing Climate Justice in Liberal Societies
Erika La Fauci, University of Messina (Italy)
Environmental Duties and Environmental Rights as Parts of a Unitary Concept: Present Generations Responsibility Towards Future Generations
Francesco D’Urso, – Università degli Studi Suor Orsola Benincasa – Napoli (Italy)
Ethics, Rights and Future Generations: the Difficult Combination of Environmental Protection and Individual Freedom.
13:00 - 15:00 Lunch Break
15:00 - 16:45
PANEL 5
Chair: Andrea Porciello, University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro, Department of Law, Economics and Sociology (Italy)
Martin Svec, Masaryk University (Czech Republic) and gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (UK)
Energy Intensive Companies and Interests of Current and Future Generations
Nazlicicek Semercioglu, Bocconi University (Italy); University of Istanbul (Turkey)
Rights of Nature: Multipliers or Reducers of Environmental Duties?
Louisa Ashley, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds Law School (UK)
Diana María Rodríguez-Herrera, Technological University of Pereira (Colombia)
Seed Saving and Seed Sharing: Countermapping a Liminal Legal Space to Support the Rights of Future Generations
16:45 - 17:15 Coffee Break
17:30 - 19:00
PANEL 6
Chair: Marcella Di Stefano, University of Messina, Department of Law (Italy)
Michele Crisafulli, University of Messina (Italy)
Is There a Right to Develop as Well as a Right to Undevelop?
Daria Boklan, HSE University
Aleksandr Solntsev, RUDN University
Ecocentrism Vs Liberal Anthropocentrism: Will “Greening” of Human Rights and Free Trade under International Law contribute to environmental protection?
Giuseppe Poderati, Wuhan University, Research Institute of Environmental Law (China) and University of Palermo (Italy)
Giving Rights to Nature in the Current Anthropocene Era: the Panama Case.
Inês Lameiras Azevedo, European University Institute in Florence, Law Department (Italy)
Growth in the Anthropocene? The Circular Economy as a Possible Answer
July 2, 2022
Registration Link: Webinar Registration - Zoom: https://wvu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_oM8HxxJrSIiu_EPnJQWoJQ
9:00 - 11:00
PANEL 7
Chair: Martin Svec, Masaryk University (Czech Republic) and gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (UK)
Giovanni Bombelli, Catholic University of Milan (Italy)
Liberalism, Ecology, Anthropocene: Some Methodological Distinctions
Song Tian, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Center for Humanities, School of Humanities and Social Sciences (Shenzhen, China)
The Preconditions of a Civilization and the Self-restrain to Development in the Anthropocene
Jinfeng Zhou, China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation
About Liberalism and Ecology in the Anthropocene: Reflections from Eastern Civilization—A New Era of Civilization Must be Started
Jean-Yves Heurtebise, Fujen Catholic University, Taiwan; CEFC (French Research Center on Contemporary China), Taiwan
Illiberalism & Misanthropocene
11:00 - 11:30 Coffee Break
11:30 - 12:30
PANEL 8
Chair: Daria Boklan, HSE University
Imad Antoine Ibrahim, Qatar University, Center for Law and Development (Doha, Qatar) and gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (UK)
Blockchain, Climate Damage, and Death: Policy Interventions to Reduce the Carbon Emissions, Mortality, and Net-Zero Implications of Non-Fungible Tokens and Bitcoin
Qingxiu Bu, University of Sussex (United Kingdom)
Towards an ESG-Driven Standard in Global Biodiversity Governance: Is Corporate Mandatory Due Diligence a cure in Supply Chains?
Md. Abdul Alim, University of Rajshahi Department of Law (Bangladesh)
Legal Aspects of Recycling Responsibilities for E-waste Especially Photovoltaic Waste
12:30 - 13:30
PANEL 9
Chair: Chamundeeswari Kuppuswamy, Hertfordshire Law School (United Kingdom)
Bryan Druzin, Chinese University of Hong Kong
A World Unravelling: Can Multilateral Environmental Governance be sustained in the Anthropocene?
Seyed Hossein Mirjafari, Islamic Azad University of Hamadan (Iran); Samira Rezaei Gilaneh, Parand Islamic Azad University (Iran)
A Study of the Relationship between Neoliberalism and the Second Generation of Human Rights
CONFERENCE CHAIRS AND COORDINATORS
Paolo Farah
West Virginia University, Rockefeller School of Policy and Politics (USA) & gLAWcal (UK) – Member of the Board of the European Society of International Law (ESIL)
Alessio Lo Giudice
University of Messina, Department of Law (Italy)
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Chamu Kuppuswamy (University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom), Martin Svec (Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic), Ozlem Ulgen (University of Nottingham, United Kingdom), Carmela Panella (University of Messina, Italy) Daria Boklan (HSE University)
CO-ORGANIZERS
The European Society of International Law (ESIL) Interest Group on International Environmental Law, University of Messina, Department of Law (Italy), West Virginia University, Rockefeller School of Policy and Politics and the WVU Eberly College Interdisciplinary Research Collaborative on Global Challenges and Local Response Initiatives (USA) have jointly organized an interdisciplinary International Conference on “Liberalism and Ecology in the Anthropocene ” to be held at the University of Messina, Italy 30 June –2 July 2022. This event is also supported by the ESIL Interest Group on International Legal Theory and Philosophy and the Italian Society of Philosophy of Law (SIFD).
The full program of the 2nd Energy Transition Colloquium April and June events is available here: https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/588d870bd7a2e7e17e54a2a7/628fd2c3168152a4ecaf11a3__225265%20Energy%20transition%20final%20(1).pdf
WELCOMING ADDRESS
Paolo Farah
Chair of the 2nd Energy Transition Colloquium & Associate Professor, WVU Eberly College, Public Administration
Bradley Wilson,
Director of the Center for Resilient Communities & Associate Professor, WVU Eberly College, Geography
SPEAKERS
Adrian Anderson
Senior Director - Renewable Energy Microsoft
Joey James
Principal - Downstream Strategies
Thomson Gross
GIS Analyst - Urban Grid Solar
Amanda Marple
Land Owner Relations Specialist - Urban Grid Solar
Autumn Long
Project Manager - Appalachian Solar Finance Fund
The online conversation Toward a Renewable Energy Transition in Appalachia, part of the 2nd Energy Transition Colloquium, will explore ways to leverage on renewables to facilitate the energy transition in Appalachia.
The speakers will answer the following crucial questions for the future of our energy system:
What are the key obstacles and opportunities right now in advancing renewable energy transition (in Appalachia or in general)
How or why is renewable energy transition a social and environmental justice issue?
What kinds of research do we need to advance a just renewable energy transition? How can we more effectively increase public participation in research / science / policy for renewable energy transition?
REFLECTIONS AND AGENDA SETTING FOR THE 2ND ENERGY TRANSITION COLLOQUIUM
April 28, 2 30 PM - 4:30 PM
Paolo D. Farah
Public Administration, West Virginia University, USA & gLAWcal, UK
Bradley Wilson
Geography, West Virginia University & Center for Resilient Communities
Brenden McNeil
Geography, West Virginia University
CO-ORGANIZERS
The international conference is organized by the Rockefeller School of Policy and Politics, Department of Public Administration of West Virginia University, USA.
The event is in collaboration with the WVU Center for Resilient Communities (CRC), the WVU Eberly College Interdisciplinary Research Collaborative on Global Challenges and Local Response Initiatives & WVU Eberly College Interdisciplinary Research Collaborative on Climate, the American Society of International Law (ASIL) Interest Group on International Environmental Law and Interest Group on Intellectual Property Law, gLAWcal - Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development, UK
For the June 16,2022 9 AM 1 PM (EST, Washington, DC) session: https://wvu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rTAEcna6RqS9_RlkTza9ng
and here for the June 17, 2022 9 AM 1 PM (EST, Washington, DC) session: https://wvu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_U-He006sToqm7NNxjmMwMw
The full program in PDF is available here: https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/588d870bd7a2e7e17e54a2a7/628fd2c3168152a4ecaf11a3__225265%20Energy%20transition%20final%20(1).pdf
CONFERENCE PROGRAM
Registration Link: https://wvu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rTAEcna6RqS9_RlkTza9ng
16 June (9 AM - 1 PM)
Welcoming
Paolo Farah
Chair of the 2nd Energy Transition Colloquium & WVU Eberly College, Rockefeller School of Policy and Politics
Bradley Wilson,
Director of the Center for Resilient Communities, WVU Eberly College, Geography
9:00 – 10:00 am
I. Facilitating the Energy Transition I: Public International Law, Trade and Climate Change
1. Larry Catá Backer, Pennsylvania State University, School of Law and School of International Affairs (USA), Facilitating the Energy Transition: A Human Right and Soft Law Perspective
2. Mahatab Uddin, University of Guelph (Canada) and University of Southern Denmark, Centre for Law, Sustainability, and Justice (Denmark), Trade and Climate Change for the Promotion of Clean Energy Technologies
3. Francesco Adamo, University of Eastern Piedmont, Geoprogress - NPO (Italy), Funds for Energy Transition in the Environmentally Creditors Countries
10:00 – 10:30 am
Questions and Answers: Larry Backer, Mahatab Uddin, Francesco Adamo
10:30 – 10:45 am - Break
10:45 – 11:45 am
II. A Transition on the Making: The Case of Appalachian
1. Michaud Gilbert, Loyola University Chicago, School of Environmental Sustainability (USA), The Decline of the Coal Economy in Southern Ohio and the Recent Growth of the Solar Industry: Challenges and Opportunities through Public Engagement
2. Stefania Staniscia, West Virginia University, Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, School of Design & Community Development, Landscape Architecture (USA), Art-based Approach to the Energy Transition: Land Mine Reclamation in West Virginia
3. Nicholas Ashford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology – MIT (USA)
11:45 am – 1:00 pm
Roundtable and Cross Talk Dialogue: Larry Backer, Mahatab Uddin, Francesco Adamo, Michaud Gilbert, Stefania Staniscia, Nicholas Ashford, Paolo D. Farah
17 June (9 AM - 1 PM)
Registration Link: https://wvu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_U-He006sToqm7NNxjmMwMw
Welcoming
Paolo Farah
Chair of the 2nd Energy Transition Colloquium & WVU Eberly College, Rockefeller School of Policy and Politics
Bradley Wilson,
Director of the Center for Resilient Communities, WVU Eberly College, Geography
III. Facilitating the Energy Transition II: An International and Comparative Perspective
1. Imad Antoine Ibrahim, Qatar University, Center for Law and Development – CLD (Qatar), Energy Transition and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7: A Legal Appraisal in the Context of the MENA Region
2. Simón Ladino Cano, University of Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris (France), Unleashing a Just Transition in Latin America: Insights for Tackling Energy Transition Obstacles in the Pacific Alliance Countries (to be confirmed)
3. Beibit Shangirbayeva, Gumiloyv Eurasian National University, Department of International Law, Law School, Nur-Sultan (Kazakhstan), Nexus Between Extraction of Natural Resources and Political Reform: A Case of Kazakhstan
10:00 – 10:30 am
Questions and Answers: Imad Antoine Ibrahim, Simón Ladino Cano, Beibit Shangirbayeva
10:30 – 10:45 am – Break
10:45 – 11:30 am
IV. Facilitating the Energy Transition III: The EU Perspective
1. Luigimaria Riccardi, University of Pisa, Department of Political Science (Italy), Power To Gas and ‘Green’ Hydrogen in the EU: The Energy Transition Between Innovation and Fragmentation
2. Martin Svec, Masaryk University, Faculty of Law, Department of Energy Law, Institute of Law and Technology, REPowerEU: EU’s Energy Transition in the Context of Russian Aggression against Ukraine
11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Roundtable and Cross Talk Dialogue: Imad Antoine Ibrahim, Simón Ladino Cano, Beibit Shangirbayeva, Luigimaria Riccardi, Martin Svec, Paolo D. Farah
CONFERENCE CHAIR
PAOLO D. FARAH
West Virginia University (WVU), Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, Rockefeller School of Policy and Politics, Department of Public Administration
CO-ORGANIZERS
The international conference is organized by the Rockefeller School of Policy and Politics, Department of Public Administration of West Virginia University, USA.
The event is in collaboration with the WVU Center for Resilient Communities (CRC), the WVU Eberly College Interdisciplinary Research Collaborative on Global Challenges and Local Response Initiatives & WVU Eberly College Interdisciplinary Research Collaborative on Climate, the American Society of International Law (ASIL) Interest Group on International Environmental Law and Interest Group on Intellectual Property Law, gLAWcal - Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development, UK, and Qatar University, Center for Law and Development(CLD), Qatar.
The Special Issue of the gLAWcal Newsletter with focus on “Actions and Plans against Climate Change. Towards the 2015 Paris Climate Summit” has been realized gLAWcal—Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (United Kingdom) in the frame of the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) People, Marie Curie IRSES Project under grant agreement n° 269327, “Evaluating Policies for Sustainable Energy Investments”, Acronym of the Project: EPSEI, in collaboration with University of Strathclyde Glasgow, School of Law, Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance.
Full text available at the following link:
http://glawcal.org.uk/files/Newsletter_gLAWcal_-_Issue_1_2015.pdf
This Special Issue of the Newsletter of gLAWcal with focus on: “IPRs Regulation: China, Hong Kong and India” has been realized by gLAWcal—Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development in collaboration with the University Institute of European Studies (IUSE) in Turin, Italy within the European Union Research Executive Agency IRSES Project “Liberalism in Between Europe And China” (LIBEAC) coordinated by Aix-Marseille University. This work has been realized in the framework of Workpackage 4.
Full text available at the following link: http://glawcal.org.uk/files/Newsletter/2014/Newsletter_gLAWcal_-_Issue_25_2014.pdf
The Special Issue of the gLAWcal Newsletter with focus on “Climate Change and Environmental Protection in China” has been realized gLAWcal—Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (United Kingdom) in the frame of the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) People, Marie Curie IRSES Project under grant agreement n° 269327, “Evaluating Policies for Sustainable Energy Investments”, Acronym of the Project: EPSEI, Coordinated by University of Turin - Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza.
Full text available at the following link: http://glawcal.org.uk/files/Newsletter/2014/Newsletter_gLAWcal_-_Issue_24_2014.pdf
This Special Issue of the Newsletter of gLAWcal with focus on: “Human Rights and Information Society : Africa’s Digitization, Access to Information and Internet Rights in Africa” has been realized by gLAWcal—Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development in collaboration with the University Institute of European Studies (IUSE) in Turin, Italy within the European Union Research Executive Agency IRSES Project “Liberalism in Between Europe And China” (LIBEAC) coordinated by Aix-Marseille University. This work has been realized in the framework of Workpackage 4.
Full text available at the following link: http://glawcal.org.uk/files/Newsletter_gLAWcal_-_Issue_23_2014.pdf
The Special Issue of gLAWcal Newsletter with focus on “Tech Market in India & China and IP Initiatives” has been realized by gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (United Kingdom) in collaboration with the University Institute of European Studies (IUSE) in Turin (Italy) and the University of Piemonte Orientale, Novara (Italy), which are both beneficiaries of the European Union Research Executive Agency IRSES Project “Liberalism in Between Europe And China” (LIBEAC) coordinated by Aix-Marseille University. This work has been realized in the frame of Workpackage 4.
Full text available at the following link: http://glawcal.org.uk/files/Newsletter/2014/Newsletter_gLAWcal_-_Issue_22_2014.pdf
The Special Issue of gLAWcal Newsletter with focus on “Digital Rights, Internet Freedom and Digital Economy” has been realized by gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (United Kingdom) in collaboration with the University Institute of European Studies (IUSE) in Turin (Italy) and the University of Piemonte Orientale, Novara (Italy), which are both beneficiaries of the European Union Research Executive Agency IRSES Project “Liberalism in Between Europe And China” (LIBEAC) coordinated by Aix-Marseille University. This work has been realized in the frame of Workpackage 4.
Full text available at the following link: http://glawcal.org.uk/files/Newsletter/2014/Newsletter_gLAWcal_-_Issue_21_2014.pdf
The Special Issue of gLAWcal Newsletter with focus on “The Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage” has been realized by gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (United Kingdom) in collaboration with the University Institute of European Studies (IUSE) in Turin (Italy) and the University of Piemonte Orientale, Novara (Italy), which are both beneficiaries of the European Union Research Executive Agency IRSES Project “Liberalism in Between Europe And China” (LIBEAC) coordinated by Aix-Marseille University (CEPERC). This work has been realized in the frame of Workpackage 4.
Full text available at the following link: http://glawcal.org.uk/files/Newsletter/2014/Newsletter_gLAWcal-Issue_20_2014.pdf
The Special Issue of gLAWcal Newsletter with focus on “Internet Governance” has been realized by gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (United Kingdom) in collaboration with the University Institute of European Studies (IUSE) in Turin (Italy) and the University of Piemonte Orientale, Novara (Italy), which are both beneficiaries of the European Union Research Executive Agency IRSES Project “Liberalism in Between Europe And China” (LIBEAC) coordinated by Aix-Marseille University. This work has been realized in the frame of Workpackages 2 and 4, coordinated by Aix-Marseille University (CEPERC)
Full text available at the following link: http://glawcal.org.uk/files/Newsletter/2014/Newsletter_gLAWcal_-_Issue_19_2014.pdf
Development. Environmental Issues in United Kingdom
The Special Issue of the gLAWcal Newsletter with focus on “Global Threats and Trends Toward Sustainable Development. Environmental Issues in United Kingdom” has been realized gLAWcal—Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (United Kingdom) in the frame of the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) People, Marie Curie IRSES Project under grant agreement n° 269327, “Evaluating Policies for Sustainable Energy Investments”, Acronym of the Project: EPSEI, Coordinated by University of Turin - Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza.
Full text available at the following link: http://glawcal.org.uk/files/Newsletter/2014/Newsletter_gLAWcal-Issue_18_2014.pdf
Full text available at the following link: http://glawcal.org.uk/files/Newsletter/2014/Newsletter_gLAWcal_-_Issue_17_2014.pdf
Full text available at the following link:
http://glawcal.org.uk/files/Newsletter/2014/Newsletter_gLAWcal_-_Issue_16_2014.pdf
The Special Issue of gLAWcal Newsletter with focus on “Pollution, Health and Healthcare in China. Health Law & Policy” has been realized by gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (United Kingdom) in collaboration with the University Institute of European Studies (IUSE) in Turin (Italy) and the University of Piemonte Orientale, Novara (Italy), which are both beneficiaries of the European Union Research Executive Agency IRSES Project “Liberalism in Between Europe And China” (LIBEAC) coordinated by Aix-Marseille University. This work has been realized in the frame of Workpackage 4
Full text available at the following link:
http://glawcal.org.uk/files/Newsletter/2014/Newsletter_gLAWcal_-_Issue_15_2014.pdf
This Special Issue of the gLAWcal Newsletter with focus on “World Suffering Climate Change. Social and Environmental Impacts” has been realized by gLAWcal—Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development in the frame of the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) People, Marie Curie IRSES Project under grant agreement n° 269327, “Evaluating Policies for Sustainable Energy Investments”, Acronym of the Project: EPSEI, Coordinated by University of Turin - Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza.
Full text available at the following link:
http://www.glawcal.org.uk/files/Newsletter/2014/Newsletter_gLAWcal_-_Issue_14_2014.pdf
The Special Issue of gLAWcal Newsletter with focus on: “Approaches to Public Health in the World” has been realized by gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (United Kingdom) in collaboration with the University Institute of European Studies (IUSE) in Turin (Italy) and the University of Piemonte Orientale, Novara (Italy), which are both beneficiaries of the European Union Research Executive Agency IRSES Project “Liberalism in Between Europe And China” (LIBEAC) coordinated by Aix-Marseille University. This work has been implemented in the frame of Workpackages 2 and 4, coordinated by Aix-Marseille University (CEPERC).
Full text available at the following link:
http://www.glawcal.org.uk/files/Newsletter/2014/Newsletter_gLAWcal-Issue_13_2014.pdf
This Special Issue of the gLAWcal Newsletter with focus on “Sustainable Energy in an Interconnected World” has been realized by gLAWcal—Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development within the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) People, Marie Curie IRSES Project under grant agreement n° 269327, “Evaluating Policies for Sustainable Energy Investments”, Acronym of the Project: EPSEI, Coordinated by University of Turin - Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza.
Full text available at the following link: http://www.glawcal.org.uk/files/Newsletter/2014/Newsletter_gLAWcal_-_Issue_12_2014.pdf
This Special Issue of the gLAWcal Newsletter with focus on “Sustainable Development. Globalization and Trade Issues” has been realized by gLAWcal—Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development within the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) People, Marie Curie IRSES Project under grant agreement n° 269327, “Evaluating Policies for Sustainable Energy Investments”, Acronym of the Project: EPSEI, Coordinated by University of Turin - Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza.
Full text available at the following link:
http://www.glawcal.org.uk/files/Newsletter/2014/Newsletter_gLAWcal_-_Issue_11_2014.pdf
The Special Issue of gLAWcal Newsletter with focus on: “Respect of Human Rights. Insights on Labour Law and Its Violations” has been realized by gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (United Kingdom) in collaboration with the University Institute of European Studies (IUSE) in Turin, Italy and the University of Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy which are both beneficiaries of the European Union Research Executive Agency IRSES Project “Liberalism in Between Europe And China” (LIBEAC) coordinated by Aix-Marseille University. This work has been realized in the frame of Workpackages 2 and 4, coordinated by Aix-Marseille University (CEPERC)
Full text available at the following link:
http://www.glawcal.org.uk/files/Newsletter/2014/Newsletter_gLAWcal_-_Issue_10_2014.pdf
This Special Issue of the gLAWcal Newsletter with focus on “The Impact of Climate Change. Polluted Environment. Health Effects of Pollution” has been realized by gLAWcal—Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development within the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) People, Marie Curie IRSES Project under grant agreement n° 269327, “Evaluating Policies for Sustainable Energy Investments”, Acronym of the Project: EPSEI, Coordinated by University of Turin - Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza.
Full text available at the following link: http://www.glawcal.org.uk/files/Newsletter/2014/Newsletter_gLAWcal_-_Issue_9_2014.pdf
Full text available at the following link:
http://www.glawcal.org.uk/files/Newsletter/2014/Newsletter_gLAWcal_-_Issue_8_2014.pdf
Full text available at the following link:
http://www.glawcal.org.uk/files/Newsletter/2014/Newsletter_gLAWcal_-_Issue_7_2014.pdf
Accordingly, a range of issues must be taken into consideration, starting with the desirability of the commodification, or “reification,” which would allow communities to control the commercialization of their ICH through the current IPR regime. To adequately address concerns about commodification, a legal framework must be developed that can guarantee adequate advantages for the countries and communities where the intangible goods originate. This legal framework must, in due time, boost the efforts of these communities to promote a self-sustainable model of economic development and lead them through the inevitable social policy changes that would accompany new ICH protections.
Therefore, our study aims to clarify theoretical and practical legislative tools available to help the actors concerned ascertain how to exploit, trade, and market their own resources and heritage within the global market. Bearing in mind that there are numerous potential legal remedies or amendments to the current legal regime covering the protection of cultural heritage, it is not conceivable to tackle this issue as one uniform hurdle. Each community’s ICH concerns are extremely specific, and, as a result, it may be appropriate to apply ad hoc legal remedies to some, but not all, circumstances involving ICH.
This analysis consists of five Parts. Part I defines fundamental concepts associated with ICH. Part II looks at ICH as a continuous process of social involvement that helps preserve cultural identification. Part III analyzes the current forms of protection available for cultural expression and knowledge. Part IV discusses the shortcomings of adopting a single, all-embracing, umbrella solution and analyzes ways in which the current IPRs can help protect ICH. And finally, Part V proposes ways to modify and improve the current IPRs to protect ICH more efficiently.
The signs of the crisis have been visible for some time – but recent crises indicate an acceleration of the on-going disintegration of the multilateral system, such as Brexit, growing resistance on the part of States to international monitoring of compliance and the radical change in the US foreign policy during the presidency of Donald Trump which saw the US withdraw from several multilateral agreements (e.g. the Iran Nuclear Deal and the Paris Agreement), leave some international organizations or bodies (e.g. the United Nations Human Rights Council or the World Health Organization) or paralyze some others (e.g. the World Trade Organization (WTO)).
Tackling the debate surrounding the crisis of multilateralism and the related transformation of the underlying international legal order, The Crisis of Multilateral Legal Order analyzes selected aspects of the current crisis from the perspective of public international law to identify the nature of the crisis, its dynamics, and implications.