International Law and Sustainable Development: Past Achievements and Future Challenges.

• Author: Clack, Melissa
• Position: Book Review

VAUGHN LOWE ET AL., INTERNATIONAL LAW AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: PAST ACHIEVEMENTS AND FUTURE CHALLENGES, edited by Alan Boyle and David Freestone, Oxford University Press, New York (1999); ISBN: 0-19-924807-9; 377 pp. (paperback).

International Law and Sustainable Development: Past Achievements and Future Challenges is a collection of essays focusing on sustainable development and its emergence as an increasingly significant issue in the international arena. The editors begin the work with an introduction on sustainable development, trying to find a viable definition and relaying its upcoming significance in international law. Because sustainable development is a new and still emerging term, it is difficult to define in any concrete description. Nonetheless, sustainable development primarily deals with environmental protections; however, as the editor notes, "not all aspects of the law relating to sustainable development are necessarily relevant to the protection of the environment, nor do all aspects of international environmental law concern sustainable development." (1) Sustainable development also touches upon issues of animal rights, human rights, and general international law. The 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, modeled after the Stockholm Declaration of 1972, is the leading international authority on sustainable development. It signals, "a system of international environmental law has emerged, rather than simply more international law rules about the environment." (2)

Although sustainable development lacks any concrete definition, it does consist of several identified elements, which are described in the essays contained in the book. While all of the articles focus on sustainable development, they also recognize that sustainable development affects and is affected by a number of other areas of law. The articles delve into international sustainable development concerns and include International Court of Justice (ICJ) cases, fishery law, and international environmental law. Perhaps because of the intermingling of legal topics within the realm of sustainable development, there is no agreement on how much emphasis should be placed on forcing a nation to develop in a manner that would sustain the environment or, on the other hand, allowing it to develop freely. One author insightfully points out that the task of finding the appropriate norm is a daunting one and there is little hope of drawing any conclusions. (3)...