The Roles of International Law in Development

The Roles of International Law in Development provides an in-depth analysis of the relationship between public international law and development. Unlike the existing body of literature on public international law, this book investigates how international law and development interact, and evaluates the significant and multifaceted roles that international law plays in development.

Bringing together a collection of perspectives from contributors working across multiple fields, the chapters explore the relevance and applicability of international law to particular sectors and issues implicated in development activities. This includes chapters on human rights, gender equality, race and discrimination, environmental law and climate change, forced displacement and migration, and international trade and investment. They analyse how international law rules and processes can influence procedural and substantive aspects of development policies as these regulate various forms of financial support, trade, technical assistance, and policy dialogue. They also explore whether, and how, development could be more effective and yield more equitable and sustainable outcomes if the relevant and applicable rules of international law were better understood, consistently incorporated, and appropriately applied to development activities. A foundational premise of this book is that development policy and practice should be grounded more systematically in international law, rejecting the notion that development law and policy comprise a 'self-contained' regime or that development is undertaken in a legal vacuum. The proposed systematic grounding in public international law would in turn help uphold international legal accountability in the context of development activities.

Siobhan McInerney-Lankford, Senior Counsel, World Bank Legal Vice-Presidency,Robert McCorquodale, Barrister, Brick Court Chambers, London

Siobhán McInerney-Lankford is Senior Counsel at the World Bank Legal Vice-Presidency and an expert in international human rights law. She has advised the World Bank on human rights law and international law since 2002. Siobhán is also an adjunct professor at AU Washington College of Law and has published widely on human rights law. She holds an LLB from Trinity College, Dublin, an LLM from Harvard Law School, and a BCL and DPhil from Oxford. She is admitted to practice law in Rhode Island and the District of Columbia.


Robert McCorquodale is Emeritus Professor of International Law and Human Rights at the University of Nottingham and a barrister at Brick Court Chambers, London. He is also a member of the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights. He has taught and published widely on international law, and has advised governments, businesses, civil society organisations and others around the world on matters of business and human rights, and international law more generally. He has been an advocate before the UK Supreme Court and the International Court of Justice. He holds a BEc and LLB from the University of Sydney, and an LLM and PhD from the University of Cambridge.

Foreword, Christopher Stephens
Preface, Siobhán McInerney-Lankford and Robert McCorquodale
Part I: Context
1. Introduction, Robert McCorquodale
2. The Case for International Law Due Diligence in the Development Context, Siobhán McInerney-Lankford
3. The Role of International Law in Development Practice, Arnold Pronto
Part II: The Role of Human Rights Law
4. The Triangle of Human Rights, International Law, and Sustainable Development, Jan Wouters and Michiel Hoornick
5. United Nations Human Rights Treaty Bodies' Approaches, Anganile Mwenifumbo, Harumi Fuentes Furuya, and Marie-Joseph Ayissi
6. The ILO's Dialogical Standards-Based Approach to International Labour Law, Katerina Tsotroudi and Jordi Agustí Panareda
7. Achieving Gender Equality, Sandra Fredman
8. Race and Discrimination, Harum Mukhayer
9. The Right to Water, Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, Mara Tignino, and Haoua Savadogo
Part III: The Role of Environmental, Humanitarian, and Refugee Law
10. Environmental Law and Climate Change - A Perspective from Africa, Bakary Kante
11. Forced Displacement, International Law, and the World Bank, Duygu Çiçek, Paige Casaly, and Vikram Raghavan
12. Problematizing the Role of the World Bank in Latin America Mining Reforms, Ximena Sierra-Camargo
Part IV: The Role of International Economic Law
13. International Investment Law, Ursula Kriebaum
14. International Trade and Foreign Investment, Chin Leng Lim
15. The Adequacy of Financing for the Development Agenda, Thomas McInerney
16. Responsibilities and Public-Private Partnerships in Infrastructure, Humberto Cantú Rivera
17. The Rule of Law in Investment - A Condition For Development?, Farouk El-Hosseny
Part V: Conclusions
18. The Relevance of International Law to Sustainable Development, Siobhán McInerney-Lankford and Robert McCorquodale