International Economic Law

Public International Law

21 Nov 2013
JRU Law School
Pascua, Donna Phoebe M.
OUTLINE
Fundamental Principles of International Economic Law
The Definition of International Economic Law
The Basis of International Economic Law
Fundamental Principles of International Economic Law
The Institutional Structure of International Economic Law
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
About ECOSOC
Rules of Procedure
Key Functions of the ECOSOC
Annual Ministerial Review
Development Cooperation Forum
Subsidiary organizations
An Overview of the UN Report on Global Sustainability

The main international economic agenda in the post-Second
World War period involved promoting the free movement of
goods and capital across borders and enabling states to exploit
their natural resources to the maximum extent possible for their
economic development. S.P. Subedi, University of Leeds
International Economic Law
DEFINITION
Regulates the international economic order or
economic relations among nations
Includes a vast array of topics such as:
International Trade Law
International Economic Integration Law
Private International Law
International Business Regulation
International Financial Law
The role of law in development
International tax law
International intellectual property law

International Economic Law
BASIS
pacta sunt servanda = With reference to international
agreements, "every treaty in force is binding upon the parties to
it and must be performed by them in good faith."
Freedom
Sovereign equality
Reciprocity
Economic sovereignty
The duty to cooperate
Permanent sovereignty over natural resources
Preferential treatment for developing countries in general and
the least-developed countries in particular
Basis: Economic Sovereignty
Having control over the economic activities of both juridical
and natural persons conducting business within the
country, whether nationals of that country or foreigners
E.g. sovereignty over the natural resources of the country and
require that foreign individuals and companies to comply with
the new policy adopted by the state
International Economic Law
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
The right to economic development
The law on natural resources

The Stockholm Declaration 1972
The Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States 1974
World Charter for Nature 1982
UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982
The Bruntland Commission
The Rio Conference 1992
The UN Convention on Biological Diversity 1992


.

Institutional Structure
Principal international economic institutions
of a universal character:
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (World Bank)
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
replaced by the World Trade Organization (WTO)

The UN and its specialized agencies
Institutional Structure
All principal institutions
originated in wartime planning
for a better economic future
The planning took place against
the background of:
Impoverishing economic policies of
the 1930s
In the context of ambitious planning
that let to the establishment of the
universal political institution, the UN
All principal institutions coexist
with international economic
organizations of a regional
character (e.g. OECD, BIS, EC)


IMF
to promote a stable and open
international monetary system
World Bank
to promote economic growth
through post-war reconstruction
and development through
productive investment
WTO
to provide the framework for the
establishment of an open
international trading system
UN
to promote world peace through
institutionalized political
cooperation
ECOSOCs inaugural session, 23 January 1946
About ECOSOC
A founding UN charter body established in 1946
54 member-governments elected by the General Assembly for
3-year terms


Africa = 14 Seats West & other states =
13 Seats
Asia & the Pacific =
11 Seats
Latin America &
Caribbean = 10 Seats
Eastern Europe = 6
Seats
Responsible for some 70% of the human and
financial resources of the entire UN system
The Bureau (5 members) are elected by the
Council at the beginning of each annual
session
Main functions:
To propose the agenda
To draw up a programme of work
To organize the session with the support of the UN
Secretariat

ECOSOCs current chamber in UN headquarters in New York
ECOSOC: Rules of Procedure
Sessions
Agenda
Representation, Credentials
Bureau
Sessional Bodies and Subsidiary Organs
Secretariat
Languages
Public and Private Languages
Records
Conduct of Business
Voting and Elections
Participation of Non-Members of the Council
Consultation with Non-Governmental Organizations
Amendments and Suspension of Rules of Procedure
ECOSOC: Sessions
Annual organizational session and substantive
session
Organizational session: shall be convened on the first
Tuesday in February and resumed at the end of April
Substantive session: shall take place between May and
July

Special sessions: shall be convened within 6 weeks of
a decision to hold such a session or of receipt by the
President of a request for such a session
ECOSOC: Key Functions
Annual Ministerial Review (AMR)
To assess progress in achieving the internationally
agreed development goals (IADGS) arising out of
major conferences and summits.
Annual thematic review
National voluntary presentations on progress and
challenges towards achieving the IADGs
Development Cooperation Forum (DCF)
To enhance the coherence and effectiveness of
activities of different development partners.
ECOSOC: Annual Ministerial Review (AMR)
2013 AMR Preparations
Regional Meetings: focus on a topic related to the AMR
theme that is of particular relevance to the region hosting
the consultations
Exchange of views among different stakeholders
Review of regional progress and challenges
Sharing of good practices
Generation of action-oriented recommendations
Identification of regional perspectives to be reflected in the AMR
E.g. Regional Preparatory Meeting for Asia and the Pacific:
Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for Promoting
Renewable Energy Technologies, Thailand, 13 March 2013


ECOSOC: Development Cooperation Forum
(DCF)
Preparations for the 2014 Development
Cooperation Forum (July 2014, New York)
E.g. Vienna Policy Dialogue (December 2012,
Austria)
Explored root causes of persistent gender inequalities
and identified successful strategies to promote gender
equality and the empowerment of women through
development cooperation, including through gender
responsive mutual accountability, budgeting and
planning practices at country level

ECOSOC: Subsidiary Organizations
ECOSOC Functional Commissions
ECOSOC Regional Commissions
ECOSOC Standing Committees
ECOSOC Ad Hoc Bodies
Expert bodies composed of governmental experts
Expert bodies composed of members serving in their personal
capacity

ECOSOC: Subsidiary Organizations
Expert bodies composed of members serving
in their personal capacity

Committee for Development Policy
Committee of Experts on Public Administration
Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
UN Report on Global Sustainability
Working Towards a Sustainable Economy
Incorporating social and environmental costs in regulating
and pricing of goods and services, as well as addressing
market failures
Creating an incentive road map that increasingly values
long-term sustainable development in investment and
financial transactions
Increasing finance for sustainable development, including
public and private funding and partnerships for mobilize
large volumes of new financing
Expanding how to measure progress in sustainable
development by creating a sustainable development index
or set of indicators

UN Report on Global Sustainability
Strengthening Institutional Governance
Improving coherence at the subnational, national and
international levels
Creating a set of sustainable development goals
Establishing a periodic global sustainable development
outlook report that brings together information and
assessments currently dispersed across institutions and
analyses them in an integrated way
Making a new commitment to revitalize and reform the
international institutional framework, including
considering the creation of a global sustainable
development council
UN Report on Global Sustainability: A Call to Action
Empowering people to
make sustainable choices
Working towards a
sustainable economy
Strengthening
institutional governance
to support sustainable
development

The Sec-General to implement
the recommendations that fall
within his authority and to take
the full set of recommendations
to the UN family as a whole.

The Sec-General and the UN to
use the convening power of the
organization to advance the
recommendations in the
wider international community,
including Governments
at all levels, international
organizations, civil society, the
scientific community and the
private sector.
Earth provides enough to satisfy every
mans need,
but not every mans greed.
Mahatma Gandhi








Resources:
International Economic Law, S.P. Subedi, University of London, 2006
International Economic Institutions: The Challenge of Coordination,
Stephen Silard, American University International Law Review, 2011
UN Economic and Social Council, www.un.org/ecosoc