Fresh Water And International Economic Law

Fresh Water and International Law analyzes the impacts of the international economic and legal framework on domestic fresh water resource management and protection. It discusses the effects water services liberalization have on human rights obligations relating to water supply, and provides an overview of the settlement of water-related disputes. Are governments free to decide whether or not to export water resources? Can foreign investors sue host states for adopting measures to control water pollution? Can international trade rules be used to reduce or eliminate water related subsidies? Do rules on the liberalization of water services affect domestic and international human rights obligations relating to water supply? How do the procedural rights of states, individuals, affected communities and investors affect decisions regarding the right to drinking water, the rights of investors to exploit water resources, and the rights of governments to protect their lakes, rivers and groundwater?

Edith Brown Weiss is Francis Cabell Brown Professor of International Law at Georgetown University, Washington DC.
Laurence Boisson de Chazournes is Head of the Department of Public International Law and International Organisation in the Faculty of Law at the University of Geneva.
Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder is a Managing Attorney at the Geneva Office of the Centre for International Environmental Law.