CISDL

Open invitation - Roundtable on 'Towards Rio+20: Green Economy and Sustainable Development Law'

Thu, 16 Feb 2012

Towards Rio+20: Green Economy and Sustainable Development Law 

Conference organized by the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law

 February 29^th, 2012 – 4H00 PM to 5H30PM

Université de Montréal, Faculty of Law, Pavilion Maximilien Caron

3101 Chemin de la Tour, Montréal

Professor’s Lounge, A-3464

 Conference open to the public, limited seating.

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) was organized in order to evaluate where we are standing with regards to the concept and the implementation of « sustainable development ». Governments of 195 countries as well as national and supranational organizations will meet to discuss the future of sustainable development in the context of green economy and poverty eradication, by trying to elaborate a concrete action plan for the future.

 This expert round table, organized by the CISDL, aims at evaluating and exploring the legal and economic aspects of sustainable development and the transition to the green economy in the context of the preparation to Rio+20.

Host

Dr. Konstantia Koutouki, Lead Counsel of the Natural Resources Team at the CISDL and professor at the Université de Montréal Faculty of Law.

Speakers

Prof. Luc Bres, Professor at HEC and Ph. D candidate.

Prof. Geneviève Dufour, Professor at the Université de Montréal Faculty of Law.

Prof. Corinne Gendron, Professor and Chair of Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development at UQAM.

Prof. Hervé Prince, Professor at the Université de Montréal Faculty of Law and member of the Centre d'études en droit économique (CÉDÉ).

 For more information or to confirm your presence, please contact Miss Eleonora Eusepi (eeusepi@cisdl.org).

CISDL Academic Workshop on Trade Law for the Low-Carbon Economy

Thu, 2 Feb 2012

OPEN INVITATION - Academic Workshop

Trade Law for the Low-Carbon Economy: 

New means to promote trade in climate-friendly goods and services after the Durban COP 17

Tuesday / 4pm - 6pm / 07 February, 2012

Old Library, Lauterpacht Centre for International Law (LCIL), Cambridge University

5 Cranmer Road, Cambridge, UK

The intersections of trade law and law on climate change are a subject of legal and scholarly debate. Recent studies have found that sustainable trade policies can be used to foster sustainable development practices, removing trade barriers set on sustainable goods while creating new employment. In the context of fascinating debates in the UN FCCC Durban COP 17, and important new WTO cases on these issues, LCIL, IDLO, ICTSD and the CISDL are hosting an Academic Workshop on Trade Law for the Low-Carbon Economy: New Means to Promote Trade in Climate-Friendly Goods and Services.

Expert Panelists:

- Ricardo Méléndez-Ortiz, ICTSD, Keynote Speaker

- Dr. Joanna Gomula, LCIL, Discussant

- Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, IDLO, CISDL & LCIL, Discussant

Space is limited.

RSVP to mwg24@cam.ac.uk, copied to mccs2@cam.ac.uk

Call for papers: Environmental Migration Law Working Paper Series

Tue, 24 Jan 2012

The Center for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL) is calling for papers featuring cutting edge research on sustainable development law for environmental migration. The CISDL aims to encourage new and rigorous scholarship of compelling interest to scholars and policy-makers active in relevant fields. Contributions should focus on the law and governance aspects of environmental migration. The accepted contributions will be posted on the CISDL website and distributed at different academic events organized or co-organized by the CISDL. For researchers, it is also a unique opportunity to get involved in the CISDL program on environmental migration, which is organized in partnership with the University of Liberal Arts – Bangladesh and Sciences Po’s Institut du Développement Durable et des Relations Internationales (IDDRI), with the participation of the Oxford Refugee Studies Center.

The displacement of individuals triggered by environmental factors (for instance in the context of natural disasters, desertification, sea level rise or conflicts on resources) has been a growing concern in different spheres of laws and policies (e.g. migration, environment and security). Although important legal studies have been done over the last years, environmental migration has often been approached from the sole perspective of international human rights law or refugee law. In contrast, the CISDL program calls for a comprehensive approach of environmental migration grounded in the notion of a sustainable development law. Contributors are particularly encouraged to contribute to overcome the inter- and intra-disciplinary divides in the studies of environmental migration.

For example, potential contributors have shown interest in writing on the following topics:

• Environmental migrants as internally displaced persons: assessing the application of the Guiding Principles and beyond.
• Transmigration in Indonesia: a reflection on the governance of environmental migration.
• Addressing environmental migration in the light of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.
• Environmental migration under the framework of sustainable development law.
• Environmental migration and participation rights.

All contributors are invited to send an abstract (250 words) and a short biography (150 words – not necessary for CISDL members), preferably before 31 January 2012, at the program coordinator, Mr. Benoît Mayer: bmayer@nus.edu.sg . Potential contributors may also consult with him to identify a topic. The submissions will be considered on a rolling basis. For confirmed contributors, papers will normally be due not later than 15 June 2012, although extensions may be negotiated. For reference, authors are encouraged to write not less than 7,500 words and not more than 12,500 words, to include sufficient but reasonable amount of references to support their argument, and to use a systematic style (for instance the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation). Papers can be submitted in English or in French. Working papers will be reviewed and suggestions for improvement will be communicated to the authors; the final versions, after peer-review and improvement, are expected to be collected by 30 September 2011.

Climate Change and International Law: Recent Developments and Perspectives for the Future

Thu, 5 Jan 2012

CISDL is very pleased to host to a working luncheon and dialogue on Climate Change and International Law: Recent Developments and Perspectives for the Future. This Roundtable will focus on recent legal developments arising from the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Durban, South Africa. The Roundtable will take place on Thursday, January 5th 2012, from 12h00PM to 3h00PM, at the University Club of Montreal 2047 Mansfield, Montreal. This discussion will be facilitated by a panel of international experts in the field of climate change, all of who attended the Conference in Durban. The discussion will focus on the practical outcomes of the conference, as well as the future prospects of international climate change law.

The discussion will concentrate on the outcomes of the conference in terms of significant developments for international and domestic law, focusing on such areas as climate finance, REDD+, human rights, climate migrations and international climate change governance.

Panellists: Prof. Richard Janda, McGill University (Chair) Prof. Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, Senior Director, CISDL & Head, Economic Growth & Trade, International Development Law Organisation. Mr. Alberto Sandoval, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations Prof. Markus Gehring, University of Ottawa Mr. Sébastien Jodoin, Lead Counsel for Climate Change, CISDL Ms. Sarah Mason-Case, Associate Fellow, CISDL & Legal Specialist, International Development Law Organisation.

The new CISDL Working Paper Series on climate change, available at www.cisdl.org, will also be launched at the roundtable. This series of 5 papers contributed by members of the CISDL focuses on cutting edge issues with regard to international climate change law.