Sustainable Justice 2002 assembled over 250 legal experts from governments and inter-governmental organisations, civil society associations, academic institutions, foundations and the private sector. Ministers, highest court judges, distinguished ambassadors and law professors from countries as diverse as Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Uganda, the United States and Zimbabwe delivered keynote speeches and chaired conference workshops and plenary panels.

Conference workshops were held to launch new international legal programmes which will be carried out by the CISDL and other partners. Each workshop reviewed and debated an agenda for future legal research:

The workshop on trade, investment and competition law proposed that each area of international economic law needed to further integrate social and environmental considerations, with appropriate institutional provisions. The workshop addressed in particular the ‘development agenda’ for negotiations from the 2001 Doha Ministerial of the World Trade Organisation, and the need to take into account basic human rights to food and water in services liberalisation, as well as the economic provisions in multilateral environmental agreements.

The workshop on human rights and poverty eradication considered the integration of economic, social and cultural rights in sustainable development with particular focus on the activities of the international financial institutions. The workshop also discussed challenges and lessons from previous development experiences for the emerging field of international sustainable development law.

The workshop on sustainable international natural resources law debated the need for international instruments to regulate deforestation, and prevent illegal logging, as well as the need for proactive treaty provisions for sustainable use of natural resources. The workshop also considered the value and limits of voluntary approaches led by industry sectors, as exemplified by global mining initiative.

The workshop on sustainable international biodiversity law considered legal incentives for sustainable use of biodiversity, including mechanisms to ensure that benefits of traditional knowledge were shared with their originators and that ecotourism provided benefits for local communities. The workshop discussed the value of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity as a global tool for sustainable use of biodiversity, and its limits, and also considered the need for precaution in the exploitation of new biotechnology.

The workshop on international climate change law and vulnerability considered the legal obligations of countries responsible for sea level rise and other impacts. The workshop also examined the use of economic instruments, such as emissions trading, in climate regimes such as the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Convention on Climate Change, and discussed the investment aspects of climate change law implementation.

Finally, the workshop on sustainable international health law debated the trade aspects of the global public health agenda, focusing on the reduction of tobacco use and control of infectious disease. The workshop also examined issues related to intellectual property rights and access to medications, as well as the link between damage to the environment and human health. The workshop debated the contribution of biotechnology to medical science, and a fundamental human right to non-discriminatory access to and the highest possible standard of health care.