The Principle of Sustainability: Transforming Law and Governance

Osgoode Hall Law Journal, 2009

The Future of Environmental Law , 2023

This paper explores the theoretical limits of sustainable principles from a legal perspective.

Journal of Human Rights and The Environment, 2010

Sustainability, 2011

In this introduction to the special issue of Sustainability on environmental laws and sustainability, we attempt to synthesize key lessons from the issue"s ten substantive articles. These lessons involve the use of law to achieve integrated decision-making, the use of pre-existing laws to foster sustainability, the centrality of sub-national governments in achieving sustainability, the background law of unsustainable development, the growing importance of climate change, the need to use law to protect and restore ecological integrity, the importance of judicial review and nongovernmental organizations, the need to translate sustainability into specific legal principles, the challenge of creating an appropriate national legal structure for sustainability, the importance of sustainability assessment tools and institutions before and after laws are adopted, and the importance of "soft" law.

Institutions & Transition Economics: Environmental Issues eJournal, 2011

It is commonplace to note that the world is experiencing an unprecedented rate of change. The "boundary shattering force[s]" of globalized markets and new technologies are likely to continue smashing through pre-existing social and political fault lines for the foreseeable future. This rate of change has significant ramifications for the sustainability of human society. Indeed, making the transition to a sustainable society may be the greatest challenge that we face as a species. The role of law, and lawyers, in that process has yet to be determined. This essay argues that law can be a tool for encouraging that transition to sustainability.

The dilemma of sustainability is that it is difficult to enforce, and in general its enforcement is perceived to be accompanied with a reduced quality of lifestyle and profit. The majority of people agree that sustainability is important, hence the development of a number of policies and protocols that advocate a reduction in the exploitation of natural resources. The huge problem faced by these initiatives is that it is not sufficiently enforced and that the main initiators for the environment, the United Nations (UN), are seen to be insufficiently empowered to use coercion. This paper discusses existing policies such as the Maastricht Treaty, The Brundtland report, The Kyoto Protocol and Agenda 21, to examine strategies to improve the earth’s environment. The influence of major agencies that assist with sustainability such as the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), The World Energy Council and Major Financial institutions are discussed briefly. The enforcement of environmental issues remains a complex concern that is best achieved through participation and co-operation rather than coercion. The difficulties in enforcing environmental policies are discussed, as are ways of overcoming possible pitfalls. Keywords: social issues, environmental policies. 1 Introduction Sustainable development is a complex concept that aims to reconcile two apparent contradictory processes: economic development and environmental protection (Baker [1]). Policies that promote sustainable development will make

Scientific Papers of Silesian University of Technology. Organization and Management Series, 2019

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) establishes in matters related to environmental protection the concept of sustainable development. The aim of the research is to recognise whether the Court refers to specific axiology when citing sustainability issues in its justifications. It should be checked if the CJEU equates the legal norm or the principle of the functioning of the European Union to sustainable development or a value having a nonnormative source. By analysing selected judgments and their justifications, it will be determined whether the reference by the CJEU to sustainable development is only verbal (nominal) or if the manner of formulating arguments of the EU court proves that the authority has adopted a certain system of values to make decisions in the field of environmental protection. The analysis will be conducted from a law and ethics perspective.

European Company Law, 2021

The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Sustainable Development, 2020

Despite the large consensus on both the theoretical and ethical levels toward sustainable development, a grounded skepticism coming from the business side has been for a long time an obstacle to the implementation of practical behaviors and the building of effective rules.