Furthermore, in May 2005, the Permanent Court of Arbitration referred to the “concept of sustainable development” in the arbitration proceedings on the Iron Rhine Railway (“Ijzeren Rijn”) (Belgium v. the Netherlands). In deciding that Belgium had the right to reactivate the Rhine Railway, which was rejected by the Netherlands on environmental grounds, the General Court stated, in paragraph 59 of its judgment, that the European Union`s commercial policy supports the implementation of international environmental legislation, which is mainly provided for in multilateral environmental agreements. The EU`s modern trade agreements oblige the EU and its partners to respect and implement the fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organisation: in particular, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) invoked the “concept of sustainable development” when ruling on a dispute between Hungary and Slovakia in the case of the Gabeikovo-Nagymaros project to propose a way forward: “The Parties should work together to promote an enabling and inclusive international economic system that contributes to sustainable economic growth and development in all Parties, in particular in developing countries, so that they can better address the challenges of climate change. Measures to combat climate change, including unilateral actions, should not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustified discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade. 3 One answer is that we have a number of declarations that commit us to ensuring that trade and sustainable development are mutually supportive. The Marrakesh Agreement establishing the WTO states: Following a debate between the EU institutions, EU Member States and civil society organisations, the Commission services published on 26 February 2018 a non-paper containing 15 action points to make the implementation of the trade and sustainable development chapters more effective and to improve their enforcement. The Commission services regularly update the implementation of the 15-point action plan. Despite the recognition of the ICJ and the WTO, the status of sustainable development in international law remains to be seen. Is it a custom or a convention? Does it have both material and procedural consequences? Philippe Sands concludes in his article “International Tribunals and the Application of the Concept of `Sustainable Development`”: Sustainable development can therefore be considered as “a broad umbrella” in which the specialized fields of international law are based to promote economic development, environmental protection and respect for civil and political rights. These are principles, rules or institutional arrangements that have been endorsed by the international community (States, international institutions and non-State actors). Ad hoc civil society advisory groups from the EU and partner countries bring together environmental, trade union and trade organisations to discuss the implementation of the trade and sustainable development chapters of EU trade agreements. The Section for External Relations of the European Economic and Social Committee provides the secretariat for the EU DAG.
The EU has also concluded bilateral agreements with a number of countries, so only legally harvested timber is exported to the EU. These are Forest Law Enforcement Governance (FLEG) and Voluntary Partnership agreements for trade. In its discussion paper, the ICFDL states that sustainable development is also the goal of many international treaties. These include: Annual SDG reports provide an overview of the world`s implementation efforts to date and identify areas where progress is being made and further action needs to be taken. They are prepared by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs with the participation of international and regional organizations and the United Nations system of agencies, funds and programmes. Several national statisticians, experts from civil society and academia also contribute to the reports. Recognizing that their relations in the field of trade and economic efforts should be conducted with the aim of raising living standards, ensuring full employment and a large and steadily growing volume of real incomes and effective demand, and increasing production of and trade in goods and services, enabling the optimal use of the world`s resources in accordance with the objective of sustainable development. seeks the protection and preservation of the environment and the improvement of the means to do so in a way that meets their respective needs and concerns at different levels of economic development. 1 The EU shall endeavour to ensure that trade policy contributes to the promotion of sustainable development by: it is based on three pillars: economic, environmental and social. To achieve sustainable development, policymakers must work together and support each other in these three areas. The same kind of language continues to appear in other trade, investment and environment agreements.
The international community is committed to the harmony between trade and sustainable development. Under the Generalised System of Preferences+, developing countries can gain additional access to the EU market by ratifying and putting into practice 27 international conventions, including international conventions on human and labour rights. If these agreements are not respected, the EU can temporarily withdraw any additional access. Therefore, sustainable development is a guiding principle when economic development and environmental challenges overlap. The court therefore ordered that the costs of inactivating the railway, including the costs of environmental protection measures, be shared between the two parties. Increased international trade can increase greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, particularly shipping and aviation. The EU is working with the International Maritime Organisation and the International Civil Aviation Organisation to address this issue. “We strongly reaffirm our commitment to the Sustainable Development Goal as set out in the preamble to the Marrakesh Agreement. We are convinced that the objectives of maintaining and ensuring an open and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system, as well as acting to protect the environment and promote sustainable development, can and should be mutually supportive. 2 Since the 1997 Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros project (Hungary/Slovakia), the ICJ has had other opportunities to examine the concept of sustainable development.
In the Pulp Mills on the River Uruguay case, the ICJ did not refer to the term “sustainable development”, but referred to its 1997 judgment in the context of the Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros project and its view on the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons in order to reaffirm the international obligation to protect and respect the environment. Many leaders and civil society organizations also called for a “super year of activism” to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, and called on world leaders to redouble their efforts to reach the most backward people, support local action and innovation, strengthen data systems and institutions, rebalance the relationship between man and nature and free up more resources for sustainable development. .