Law, Development and the International Community
The relationship between law and development has been a central concern of policy makers, lawyers and scholars throughout the last century. With their independence from colonial rule many countries questioned the role that law could play in improving the substantive existence of billions of peoples lives. Could law act as an engine for social change? Can laws built for the needs of one country be useful in another? Do international regulatory standards prevent countries from setting policies that are in their own best interest?
Since 1945 the international community and international organisations have promoted economic development as an end in itself often turning to law to achieve this goal. In more recent years, the language has changed to one of globalisation, good governance, and “human” development. But what exactly does development mean and to what extent have the lives of billions of people improved?
The Millennium development goals, and human development indexes, provide one answer, all be it a very limited one, in so far they provide a measure and targets to be achieved by the international community over the next decade or so. This module considers some of these goals and the role that law may play in achieving them. It questions the concept of development itself, and considers what role, if any, law can play in improving the material existence of billions of people throughout the world. It examines the role of international organisations and governments in the promotion of access to health, gender equality, the eradication of poverty, access to international trade, agricultural food production, and food security, and healthy and sustainable environments. It questions with particular attention the impact of the international legal system, including the WTO system, on the standards of living of those ¾ of its members that are developing states, and examines the problematic of international aid. As a whole, it offers students a critical insight into law’s possibilities and its limitations as it relates to international development.