CISDL Centre for International Sustainable Development Law ... · 1 CISDL 2013-2014 ANNUAL REPORT...

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CISDL 2013-2014 ANNUAL REPORT

2013-2014 ANNUAL REPORT

CISDLCentre for International Sustainable Development Law

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The mission of the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL) is to promote sustainable societies and the

protection of ecosystems by advancing the under-standing, development and implementation of in-ternational sustainable development law.

The CISDL is an independent legal research centre which collaborates with the McGill Law Faculty in engaging students and interested faculty members in sustainable development law research and schol-arly initiatives. The CISDL also works in coopera-tion with a network of developing country faculties of law, and is developing closer ties with the Cam-bridge University Faculty of Law, the Université de Montreal, Capetown University and the University of Costa Rica. It has guidance from the three Mon-treal-based multilateral treaty secretariats, the World Bank Legal Vice-Presidency, the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Development Programme, and a memorandum of understanding with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).

With the International Law Association (ILA) and the International Development Law Organisation (IDLO), under the auspices of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UN CSD), CISDL chairs a Partnership Initiative, Inter-national Law for Sustainable Development that was launched in Johannesburg at the 2002 World Sum-mit for Sustainable Development, to build knowl-edge, analysis and capacity about international law on sustainable development.

This document is printed on recycled paper.

Contact InformationAshfaq KhalfanA/Chair of the CISDL Board of Governors:email: [email protected] of Law, McGill University3644 Peel St, MontrealH3A 1W9, Quebec, CanadaTel: +1 514 398 3918

Marie-Claire C. Segger CISDL Pro Bono Senior Director:email: [email protected] Faculty of Law, McGill University3644 Peel St, MontrealH3A 1W9, Quebec, CanadaTel: +1 514 398 3918

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CONTENTS

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TABLE OF CONTENTSThe Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL) .........................................12013-2014 Annual Report ..........................................................................................................1

Mission and vision ..................................................................................................................6Address from Chair of the Board of Governors and Senior Director ........................................8Overview of CISDL Fellowship ...............................................................................................9

The CISDL Programs ................................................................................................................15NATURAL RESOURCES ....................................................................................................16

Overview ...........................................................................................................................17Publications .......................................................................................................................18Programme Highlights ......................................................................................................19

HUMAN RIGHTS ..............................................................................................................20Overview ...........................................................................................................................21Publications .......................................................................................................................22Programme Highlights ......................................................................................................22

CLIMATE CHANGE ..........................................................................................................23Overview ...........................................................................................................................24Publications .......................................................................................................................25Programme Highlights ......................................................................................................25

HEALTH & HAZARDS ......................................................................................................27Overview ...........................................................................................................................28Publications .......................................................................................................................29Programme Highlights ......................................................................................................29

BIODIVERSITY AND BIOSAFETY ...................................................................................30Overview ...........................................................................................................................31Publications .......................................................................................................................32Programme Highlights ......................................................................................................32

TRADE, INVESTMENT & COMPETITION ...................................................................33Overview ...........................................................................................................................34Publications .......................................................................................................................35Highlights: ........................................................................................................................36

CROSS-CUTTING PROGRAMME ...................................................................................37Overview ...........................................................................................................................38Publications .......................................................................................................................39Programme Highlights ......................................................................................................40

Report from International Secretariat ....................................................................................41Financial Report and Summary .............................................................................................43List of Board of governors .....................................................................................................46List of International Secretariat officers ..................................................................................48

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MISSION AND VISION

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The mission of the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL) is to promote legal education relating to sus-

tainable societies and the protection of ecosystems by advancing the understanding, development and implementation of international sustainable de-velopment law. Through its various programs and initiatives, the CISDL has positioned itself as one of the world’s leading organizations dedicated to sustainable development and as the world’s leading sustainable development law charity.

The CISDL is an organization committed to foster-ing engaged, cooperative legal research and dialogue among scholars and practitioners from all regions of the world and especially developing countries. It de-velops and maintains strong collaborative linkages between international legal researchers and seeks to promote the greater integration of scholarly re-search being carried out in the areas of international social, economic and environmental law. Through the CISDL, members carry out legal research and analysis, host conferences, academic workshops and legal panel events, and publish books, peer-reviewed journal articles, working papers and legal briefs on the intersections between international social, eco-nomic, and environmental fields of law. However, the CISDL is more than simply a collection of re-search relationships and legal scholarly debate.

Through its international engagement, the CISDL has brought together the world’s leading sustainable development professionals into a unique commu-nity dedicated to the cause of sustainable develop-ment. It is the passion of its members and partners that drives the CISDL and that has allowed it to become an internationally recognized and respected organization that plays a key role in the internation-al sustainable development community. The goals

are ambitious – the CISDL doesn’t simply pursue sustainable development, but also engages and teaches others how to pursue it themselves through international and national legal systems –, but the CISDL continues to meet them.

As a result of its ongoing legal scholarship, research and leadership, the CISDL publishes books, articles, working papers and legal briefs in English, Spanish and French. It hosts academic workshops, dialogue sessions, legal expert panels parallel to international negotiations, law courses and seminar series, and conferences to further the legal research agenda. It provides instructors, lecturers and capacity-building materials for developing country governments and international organizations in national and interna-tional law related to the field of sustainable devel-opment. And it works with countries to develop national laws to implement international treaties in these areas. Going forward, the CISDL will con-tinue to pursue each of these endeavors as it contin-ues to grow its community through new members, partnerships and offices.

The CISDL has and will continue to make signifi-cant contributions to the international community through the selfless efforts of its members and part-ners. Now more than ever, as the CISDL works to expand its footprint and sustainable development issues continue to grow in urgency, the CISDL and its work will continue to grow in importance and relevancy.

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Address from Chair of the Board of Governors and Senior Director

Dear colleagues and friends of CISDL,

Warmest of thanks for all of your brilliant collabora-tion and engagement in 2014!

We have learned, shared and achieved a great deal to-gether as sustainable development scholars, jurists and practitioners, this past year.

International law to address crucial sustainable devel-opment challenges has further advanced - in design, in implementation, and in peaceful resolution of disputes. Our foundations and networks continue to expand and strengthen, even as the CISDL is also growing as an international law centre, an active research and ca-pacity-building partner, and a community of practice.

It is a great privilege to be able to consider you col-leagues, fellow scholars and practitioners, and also friends, upon whom we continually trust and depend in so many collaborations.

There is certainly an interesting year to come. Our world is struggling to agree a new instrument to ad-dress climate change, working to implement crucial ac-cords on biodiversity and land degradation, carefully considering future directions for our trade and invest-ment rules, and continuing to fight for the realisation of universal human rights, even as we also seek to adopt new global goals on sustainable development.

In this common agenda, there is much to discover, learn and share, as we advance the economic, environ-mental and social dimensions of sustainable develop-ment together.

My deepest thanks to all our members and partners for your constant trust, intellectual friendship, and amaz-ing contributions to our tiny (but growing) global com-munity. We’re looking forward to an absolutely bril-liant 2015 with you.

Very warmest regards, Ashfaq

Ashfaq Khalfan Chair of the CISDL Board of Governors

We send our warmest thanks to everyone who has con-tributed as members of the CISDL community, on our joint research and publications, our stellar interna-tional engagement, brilliant student involvement on many levels, and especially in the development and fu-ture planning for our Centre. In this spirit, it is good to report that the CISDL has again managed to meet and in some cases surpass our joint objectives this year.

To our vibrant, active and scholarly legal community, we say simply ‘Keep up the good work!’

Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger Senior Director Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL)

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Overview of CISDL Fellowship

The research and initiatives of the CISDL are led by a group of nine Lead Counsels – one for each of the six different legal research programs and three with responsibility for crosscutting governance and accountability initiatives. The Lead Counsels help guide and support a distinguished research fellow-ship operating under the themes of these programs.

The fellowship consists of senior research fellows (tenured professors, justices, and senior legal pro-fessionals), legal research fellows (academics and legal professionals) and associate fellows (graduate and law students). Fellows include learned jurists and scholars from all regions of the world and from a diversity of legal traditions including both civil and common law. Through a competitive annual process, the CISDL selects Associate Fellows, Legal Research Fellows and Senior Research Fellows, who are holders of the associated privileges and obliga-tions of membership.

The current fellowships consists of the following individuals:

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Senior Research Fellows

Prof. Bradnee Chambers,

Convention on Migratory Species

Dr. Carolyn Deere,

Global Economic Governance Oxford University

Prof. Myron J. Frankman,

McGill University, Canada

Prof. Duncan French,

Lincoln University, United Kingdom

Prof. Richard Janda,


Dr. Charlotte Streck,

ClimateFocus, Germany

Prof. Helene Trudeau,

Universite de Montreal, Canada

Dr. Catherine-Zoi Varfis,

European Commission, Brussels

Dr. Maria Leichner,

Fundacion Ecos, Uruguay

Mr. Paul Crowley

Nunavut, Canada

Prof. Hoi Kong


Legal Research Fellows

Prof. Yongmin Bian,

China

Ms. Christine Frison,

Belgium

Ms. Alexandra Harrington

United States

Dr. Tanira Kingi,

New Zealand

Mr. Kishan Khoday,

Canada

Prof. Mari Koyano,

Japan

Ms. Vuyelwa Kuuya,

South Africa/Zimbabwe

Dr. Nicole Matip,

Cameroon

David McMullen,

Canada

Mr. Jaykumar Menon,

U.S.A.

Prof. Kate Miles,

Australia

Prof. Andrew Newcombe,

Canada

Mr. Frederic Perron-Welch

Montreal, Canada

Mr. Roman Picherack,

New York, USA

Mr. Ramin Pejan,

Canada

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Ms. Marjan Radjavi,

Canada/Iran

Dr. Dayna Nadine Scott,

Canada

Gerdine Van Woudenberg,

The Netherlands/Canada

Ms. Emily Wheeler,

McGill University

Dr. Joseph Wilson,

Lahore, India

Dr. Jessie Hohmann

England

Ms. Marie Wilke

Switzerland

Prof. Hector Velasco-Perroni

Mexico

Katharina Rogalla von Bieberstein

Germany

Mr. Freedom-Kai Phillips

Canada

Cairo Robb

United Kingdom

Abikè Yacoubou - Chabi yo

Benin/France/Canada

Associate Fellows

Marcelin Tonye Mahop

Cameroon/ England

Rodrigo Mella

Chile

Aline Jaeckel

Germany

Stuart Bruce

England

Fabiano de Andrade Correa

Italy

Tiago Antunes

Portugal

Prof. Freya Baetens,

Netherlands

Ms. Jennifer Bond

Canada

Nienke van der Burgt

Belgium

Ms. Ximena Insunza Corvalan

Chile

Daniel G. Costelloe

USA

Mr. Carlo Di Nicola,

Canada

Daniel Ehighalua

Nigeria

Zecharias Fassil

Ethiopia

Sarah Gagnon-Turcotte,

Canada

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Henning Grosse Ruse-Khan

Germany

Patricia Hania

Canada

Mariana Herrero

Mexico

Graciele Jasa Silveira

Colombia

Ms. Alexandra Keenan

Canada

Mr. Alexander Kenny,

Canada

Mr. Avidan Kent,

Israel

Prof. Nihaya Khalaf

Iraq

Katherine Lofts

Canada

Prof. Dimitra Manou

Greece

Ms. Sarah Mason-Case,

Canada

Mr. Benoit Mayer,

France

Ms. Carolina Monardes

Canada/Chile

Henri Joel Nkuepo

South Africa

Joshua Roberts,

USA

Raquel Rodrigues,

Brazil

Yolanda Saito,

Canada

Simone Schiele,

Germany

Sean Stephenson,

Canada

Wei Zhuang

China

Alexandre Genest

Canada

Arezou Farivar

Canada

M. Ilmi Granoff

USA

Sean Fraser

South Africa

Carissa Wong

Canada

Juan Mendoza Gomez

Colombia

Rakhyun Edward Kim

New Zealand

Vyoma Jha

India

Chris Campbell-Duruflé

USA

Karine Péloffy

Canada

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Alumni

Mr. Osman Aboubakr,Egypt / CanadaMs. Rachel Bendayan,McGill Faculty of LawProf. Jorge Bermúdez S.,Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso, ChileMr. Roberto Busó,University of New HampshireMs. Alicen Chow,International Development Research CentreMr. Gustavo G. Comas,ArgentinaMs. Dorsaf El Mekki,University of Montreal, Faculty of LawMr. Martin Endicott,United KingdomMr. Carlos Iván Fuentes,Ms. Kathryn GarforthSecretariat of the Convention on Biological DiversityMs. Anna Granova,South AfricaMr. Henry Lovat,London, UKMs. Munja Maksimcev,CanadaDr. Sylvestre Manga,SenegalMr. François Massé,CanadaMs. Heather McCready,McGill Law FacultyDr. Desiree McGraw,McGill IDS / CIDA, CanadaMr. Chris Petit,Capetown Law FacultyMr. Olivier RukundoSecretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity

Mr. Mark Searl,Canada / TrinidadMr. Hari Suthan,McGill Law FacultyMme. Sidney Thompson,McGill Faculty LawMr. Witold Tymowski,CanadaMs. Maria Villaveces,ColombiaMr. Murray Wesson,Oxford Law Faculty, M.Phil.Mr. Jeff King,CanadaProf. Lavanya Rajamani,IndiaDr. Peggy Blair,Ottawa, CanadaProf. Wajeeh Elali,McGill Economics, CanadaDr. Alhagi Marong,International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, ArushaMr. Chris Tung,Hong Kong, Climate Change Law, Carbon financing and vulnerabilityMr. Michael Kerr,AustraliaProf. Gabriel R. Nemogá SotoNational University, Colombia

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THE CISDL PROGRAMS

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NATURAL RESOURCESThe natural resources program utilizes the diverse expertise of its researchers to develop legal and educational tools that can be used to promote and strengthen awareness of the myriad issues affecting natural resource protection and development.

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OverviewThe Natural Resources Programme, through ro-bust legal research tools on sustainable use of water, forests, land and extractive industries, and through related education, awareness and capacity building activities, aims to advance knowledge and under-standing of international law on natural resources.

The natural resources program utilizes the diverse expertise of its researchers to develop legal and educational tools that can be used to promote and strengthen awareness of the myriad of issues affect-ing natural resource protection and development.

There has emerged a global awareness of sustainable development of natural resources, evidenced by the advent of various international treaties on the same. With most countries in the process of reforming their laws and institutions to implement these in-ternational instruments, there is a pressing need for legal expertise, capacity and advice in this emerging field of research and education.

In line with this global awareness, the Natural Re-source Programme aims to:

• Research and strengthen capacity for the imple-mentation of innovative sustainable resources governance instruments, taking into account re-cent local, national, regional and international developments.

• Investigate pressing sustainable development questions in law and policy on natural resources of importance to indigenous peoples, especial-ly indigenous women, and disseminate find-ings widely, supporting implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the UN International Forum on Indig-enous Issues and the International Labour Or-ganization Convention No 169.

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Publications

• Kingi, T.T., Scarsbrook, M., & Park, S. (2012). Solutions for a Sustainable Lake Rotorua: The farmers perspective. In Advanced Nutrient Man-agement: Gains from the Past - Goals for the Fu-ture. (Eds L.D. Currie and C L. Christensen).

• Kingi, T.T. ‘Tribal partnerships and developing ancestral Maori land’. In Crowl, L., Matbod P., & D’Arcy, P. Pacific-Asia partnerships in Resource Development. Madang, PNG: Divine World University Press.

• Kingi, T.T., Wedderburn, M.E., Montes de Oca, O. ‘Iwi Futures: Integrating traditional knowledge systems and cultural values into land use planning’. In: Walker, R., Natcher, D., Jojo-la, T., & Kingi, TT. ‘Walking backwards into the future: Indigenous community planning and land use management’. Montreal, Canada: McGill-Queens University Press.

• Wedderburn, M.E., Kingi, T.T., Paine, M., & Montes de Oca. (2011). West meets south: Maori livestock farming a means to acheive functional integrity? Proceedings of the IXth IRC LiFLoD Workshop, Livestock farming embedded in local development: a functional perspective to alleviate vulnerability of farming communi-ties. Rosario, Argentina.

Future Publications

• EU-Andean Trade in Forest Products: FLEGT and Illegal Logging in South America

• Indigenous Women and Natural Resource Management: The Case of Quebec’s Plan Nord

• Water Genomic and International Law

• Environmental Impact Assessment Law in Greece

• FPIC, the Saami and Environmental Impact Assessment

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Programme Highlights• Lead Counsel, Dr Konstantia Koutouki was

appointed as an external evaluator for doc-toral thesis for the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Guyana, and has been working with the UWI Guyana Research Centre on Medicinal Plants on the issue of legal ownership of these resources

• The Natural Resources program held a Workshop in collaboration with the Univer-sité de Montréal, Université d’Ottawa and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council in March 2014 on the Interrela-tionship between Investment Arbitration, Indigenous Rights, and Environmental Law

o Following this Workshop, Dr Kou-touki was invited by the Canadian Council on International Law to host a similar event

• The Natural Resources program has coor-dinated with different eco-health practitio-ners to host the 5th Biennial Conference of the International Association for Ecology and Health to be held from August 11 to 15, 2014, and received funding from IDRC and Afrique 1 in this regard.

• The Programme held a Workshop in col-laboration with the Université de Mon-tréal, Université d’Ottawa and Social Sci-ences and Humanities Research Council in March 2014 on the Interrelationship between Investment Arbtiration, Indig-enous Rights, and Environmental Law. Fol-lowing this Workshop, the lead counsel of the programme, Prof. Konstantia Koutouki was invited by the Canadian Council on International Law to host a similar event. Further, the Natural Resources program has coordinated with different eco-health prac-titioners to host the 5th Biennial Conference of the International Association for Ecology and Health to be held from August 11 to 15, 2014, and received funding from IDRC and Afrique 1 in this regard.

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HUMAN RIGHTSThe CISDL Human Rights & Poverty Eradication Programme engages in the study of the legal aspects of the impor-tant interrelationship between poverty, human rights and sustainable development. A human rights approach can frame and support sustainable development, and poverty eradication is both at the centre of sustainable develop-ment and a necessary precondition to it.

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OverviewGlobally, abject poverty and human rights abuses continue to present serious challenges to human-ity. It would be impossible to achieve sustainable development without equity and inclusion. For ex-ample, according to the Millennium Development Report, over 1 billion people worldwide live on less than one dollar a day and over 2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Many groups, particularly, indigenous groups and women, are excluded from the decision-making process. In international law, many questions remain, includ-ing how the principles of international environ-mental law, and international human rights law, can lead to sustainable development. A good example of a crosscutting treaty is the UN Framework Con-vention on Climate Change, which recognizes the special needs of the least-developed states and states that are particularly vulnerable to consequences of climate change. With a likely agreement on a global sustainable development goal on equity, there is a pressing need for robust and original international legal research and education, building international legal expertise, capacity and advice in developing countries.

The Human Rights Programme aims to:• Advance knowledge and understanding of in-

ternational law on human rights for sustainable development, building global legal research and advisory capacity, and facilitating learned dialogue among academics and decision-mak-ers

• Lead new legal research to inform the global discourse on linkages between human rights and the environment, providing inputs to sup-port the ongoing work of the UN Independent Expert on Human Rights and the Environ-ment

• Lead new legal research and education on how sustainable development goals, legal empower-ment of the poor, and gender justice can be strengthened and implemented

• Implement research Programmes on climate migration and disappearance of states, climate change and human rights, gender justice, and emerging challenges related to indigenous rights, climate change and biodiversity.

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Publications• Sumudu Atapattu, “Climate Change, Differen-

tiated Responsibilities and State Responsibil-ity: Devising Novel Legal Strategies for Dam-age Caused by Climate Change” in Benjamin J. Richardson, Yves Le Bouthillier, Heather McLeod-Kilmurray et al., eds., Climate Law and Developing Countries: Legal and Policy Challenges for the World Community (Chel-tenham: Edward Edgar, 2009).

• Sumudu Atapattu, “Climate Change and Forced Migration: Implications for International Law” (2009) 27 WIS. INT’L L.J. 607, 616.

• Sumudu Atapattu, “Global Climate Change: Can Human Rights (and Human Beings) Sur-vive this Onslaught?” (2008) 20 Colo. J. Int’l Envtl L. 35.

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Future Publications

• International Environmental Law from the Global South (CUP end of 2014 or early 2015) – edited + chapter by SA

• Disappearance of States: Migration and Chal-lenges for International Law – Journal of Envi-ronmental Law and Policy

Programme Highlights• In 2013, CISDL Lead Counsel and a group of

CISDL researchers launched a working paper series on the issue of indigenous rights focusing on Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) – one general study and three case studies cov-ering Sweden, Australia and New Zealand are under editing and another paper looks at invest-ments and indigenous peoples.

• Intellectual exchange and brainstorming with the Independent Expert on HR and the Envi-ronment on his Mandate (June 2013) [consul-tation]

o Group of 30 experts providing advice to the In-dependent Expert

o (SA impact): Advice provided to the Indepen-dent Expert as part of this small group of experts

• Working paper series on indigenous rights in five countries (forthcoming: 2014)

o Researched and compiled five working papers + overview by SA (6 total)

o Outreach on website planned for 2014

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CLIMATE CHANGEThe CISDL Climate Change Programme aims to strengthen the global climate change regime for sustainable devel-opment, with a focus on the ongoing international climate change negotiations and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; legal preparedness for climate change at the international and national levels; and other related legal, governance and policy processes.

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OverviewClimate change results in many environmental im-pacts beyond temperature increases, including sea level rise, melting glaciers and reduced snow cov-er, extreme weather events, erratic precipitation, droughts and flooding. These effects, however, are not limited to environmental impacts; they also af-fect human development. Indeed, a large section of the global population already suffers or is in some way affected by the adverse effects of climate change, including its impacts on agriculture, aqua-culture, livelihoods, biological diversity, health, and a broad range of other human rights. And though the impacts of climate change are felt globally, de-veloping countries will bear the brunt of its social, economic and environmental effects. Developing countries are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change because they have fewer of the financial, social and technological resources needed to adapt.

The CISDL’s Climate Change Programme seeks to address the challenges of climate governance, in-cluding mitigation, adaptation, and reduction in losses and damage, by engaging in the study of its legal aspects, and its relationship to sustainable de-velopment. In particular, the Programme focuses on the ongoing international climate change negotia-tions and the United Nations Framework Conven-tion on Climate Change; legal preparedness for cli-mate change at the international and national levels (including adaptation and mitigation specifically in the context of developing countries); and other re-lated legal and policy processes.

Research within the Climate Change Programme focuses on three key areas: (1) advancing knowledge and understanding of international law on climate change responses for sustainable development; (2) leading new legal research on international law for climate change adaptation and resilience, including international mechanisms for loss and damage, re-spect for human rights in climate change responses, and integrated climate finance for adaptation; and (3) leading new legal research and education on how innovative international environmental, human rights and economic instruments and processes can contribute to climate change mitigation.

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Publications• Sébastien Jodoin and Katherine Lofts, eds.,

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Cli-mate Change: An Introductory Legal Reference Guide for Policy-Makers (New Haven, Ct.: Ac-ademics Stand against Poverty, 2014).

• Erin Roberts, Raj Bavishi, Katherine Lofts, Mohammad Hafijul Islam Khan, Anna Hase-mann, Adao Soares Barbosa and Saleemul Huq, “Developing an Institutional Framework to Ad-dress Loss and Damage under the UNFCCC,” LDC Paper Series (Climate and Development Knowledge Network, October 2013).

• Katherine Lofts, “The Philippines’ Climate Change Act,” a Climate and Development Knowledge Network Policy Brief (2012).

• Katherine Lofts and Alex Kenny, “Viet Nam’s Preparations for a REDD-Compliant Benefit Distribution System,” a Climate and Develop-ment Knowledge Network Policy Brief (2012).

Future publications

• CISDL / Government, Environment and Mar-kets (GEM) Initiative Legal Working Paper Se-ries on Public Participation and Climate Gover-nance (Nov 2014)

Programme Highlights• The CISDL Climate Change Programme main-

tains a presence at the annual Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, organizing side events and other activities. Recently, the CISDL co-organized an official side event at COP 18 in Doha, Qatar, on safeguarding the socio-econom-ic benefits of sustainable forest management. At COP19 in Warsaw, Poland, CISDL also co-or-ganized an official side event on implementing Article 6 of the UNFCCC. In addition, the CIS-DL, in collaboration with the Governance, En-vironment & Markets Initiative at Yale Univer-sity (GEM) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), helped host a daylong workshop at the University of Warsaw during COP19. This workshop convened schol-ars, policy-makers, practitioners, and stakehold-ers from a variety of fields and disciplines to ex-amine how substantive and procedural rights can be used to support, design, and implement ef-fective and equitable solutions to address climate change and related challenges at multiple levels of governance.

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• Nov 2013 – UNFCCC Conference of the Par-ties (Warsaw – 11-22 November 2014)

• Held unofficial side event and workshop in con-junction with UNITAR and GEM (Yale) on REDD Governance and Climate Change

• Impact (workshop): gathered approximately 60 legal scholars, practitioners, policy-makers and stakeholders to discuss various aspects of legal rights and climate change and share knowledge

• Impact (unofficial side event): educated 200 ne-gotiators and members of civil society on imple-mentation of Art 6 UNFCCC

• Educated and informed policy-makers on eco-nomic, social and cultural rights and climate change impacts by publishing a manual and cir-culating it to over 29,000 policy and decision makers [January 2014]

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HEALTH & HAZARDSThe CISDL Health & Hazards Programme takes a novel, inter-disciplinary approach to health law by focusing on crosscut-ting themes including: economic, social and environmental regimes applicable to global health; international health law-making processes; regulation of international health services; trade in hazardous waste and products; prior in-formed consent regimes for chemicals; mental health law; trade in ozone depleting substances; and others.

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OverviewThe Health and Hazards Programme of the CISDL approaches the issues of public health as they relate to and are affected by sustainable development and the law. The team adopts an interdisciplinary ap-proach, which integrates health law into other as-pects of development with the goal of making sub-stantial and tangible improvements in the daily lives of individuals through research, lectures, and other projects. Some of the primary ongoing efforts of the programme include:

Americas Eco-Health Impact Assessments Project

The Americas Eco-Health Impact Assessment Law Project has been an ongoing Health & Hazard proj-ect involving legal research and capacity building ini-tiatives in collaboration with research centres across Latin America and the Caribbean. The project, fund-ed by the IDRC, focuses on the integration of health and environmental issues in impact assessment laws and studies how to strengthen the law-making and implementation capacity of countries in the Ameri-cas. A Legal Working Paper series shares the outcomes of the research and a new volume on implementing the principles of the Espoo Convention and its Kiev Protocol on social and environmental impact assess-ments is in the editorial stages.

Global Health and International Law Curriculum

The Lead Counsel and programme members have developed a series of lectures providing an overview of international legal regimes with relevance for global health, which has been presented since 2008 at both the McGill and Yale Faculties of Medicine. The lectures were previously given at the University of Wisconsin Law School and included in its CLE curriculum. The CISDL will continue to explore opportunities for presenting this curriculum to aca-demic and policy audiences through participation in conferences, legal institutes, and CISDL-spon-sored events.

The Involuntary Hospitalization of the Medically Ill

This project aims to address the paucity of informa-tion on the issue of involuntary hospitalization for medical patients whose myriad medical conditions may cause transient but severe states of confusion and incapacity to make medical decisions. The re-search aims to discern what transpires when a pa-tient insists on leaving the hospital, while in such a transient state, from a legal and medical perspec-tive. The CISDL and the Health and Hazards Pro-gramme will be examining this issue by screening and analyzing case law and legislation in the United States, Australia and Canada, in addition to con-tacting psychiatrists in these jurisdictions to ask them about their individual procedures. This proj-ect will create two working papers, the first a survey of the state of relevant medical law, and the second a proposed legal best practice paper.

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Publications

• Eco-health and impact assessment book

• Series on Health in international law as a cross-cutting issue across different regimes

• International health law and SD

• The involuntary hospitalization of the medi-cally ill working paper series

Future publications

• Paper on the Framework Convention on Tobac-co Control as a Model for Public Health (2014)

• Aspects of the Legal Implications on the Princi-ples of the Kiev Protocol of the Espoo Conven-tion (CUP 2015)

Programme Highlights• 30 papers on eco-health impact assessment laws

(covering 19 countries from the Americas and Europe)

o Editing expert exchanges [to be compiled into book with CUP]

o Dissemination of new knowledge related to principles of the Kiev Protocol through publi-cation of a new book

• Lead Counsel Dr Maya Prabhu is currently teaching a global health module at the Yale School of Public Health (sponsored by Yale)

o This Programme reaches 60-70 graduate students

o Lead Counsel will continue to train interna-tional lawyers (target of 50) on public health impacts of existing SDL regimes through a course at Yale School of Public Health or else-where if invited

• Piloting a new course on global mental health, including a module on international health law + technical workshops

o Graduate students gained knowledge and skills on thinking about systems and legal analysis

• 20-50 lawyers trained through a new CLE course

• 20,000 persons reached by article on imple-mentation of SDGs through scoping briefing on the health SDG

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BIODIVERSITY & BIOSAFETYThe Biodiversity and Biosafety Programme seeks to devel-op and define the linkages between different biodiversity-related policies and law in economic, environmental, and social regimes. It also seeks to strengthen connections be-tween biodiversity initiatives at the national, regional, and international levels.

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OverviewWith the signature of the UN Convention on Bio-logical Diversity’s Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS), and the Nagoya – Kuala Lumpur Protocol to the UN CBD Biosafety Proto-col, alongside the adoption of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, there is new impetus towards conservation and sustainable development of biological resourc-es. With many countries and regions in the process of reforming their laws and institutions to imple-ment these international instruments for sustain-able development, there is a pressing need for legal expertise, research and advice in this emerging field of research and education.

In line with this growing consciousness, the CISDL Biodiversity and Biosafety Programme focuses its research on the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing (ABS), and biosafety, among other aspects of the international and domestic law implications of achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and strengthening the development and implementa-tion of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs).

The Programme’s aims include:

• Advancing research on exemplary biodiversity laws demonstrating success in national imple-mentation of the provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Strategic Plan on Bio-diversity 2011-2020 and achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

• Researching and building capacity for the im-plementation of ABS measures, existing gaps in ABS systems, and future research priorities on ABS in the context of ongoing discussions at the UN CBD, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the World Intellectual Property Organization, among others.

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Publications• The Interface between the Nagoya Protocol on

Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) and the In-ternational Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) at the International Level: Potential Issues for Con-sideration in Supporting Mutually Supportive Implementation at the National Level

• Biodiversity Legislation Study: A Review of Biodiversity Legislation in 8 Countries (2014)

• Overview of National and Regional Measures on Access and Benefit Sharing

Future Publications

• Kunga and Frederic Perron Welch: Article for Africa Review of Environmental Law – Nagoya Protocol and the Right to Development

• Third edition of Global Overview of ABS Mea-sures (CISDL)

• A Biosafety Guide

• Toolkit for the IDLO

• Handbook on poaching laws in Congo

• Biosafety book published with CUP in 2013 has been accepted for a second round of distri-bution

Programme Highlights• Intergovernmental Committee of the Nagoya

Protocol o Distributing first draft of a global overview of

Access and Benefit Sharing legislation – this most comprehensive review of ABS legislation that currently exists

o Side event in Korea attended by 25-30 nego-tiators, government representatives, NGOs – exchanging views + providing up to date and accurate information on ABS implementation

o Final draft of the global overview is to be con-firmed June 2014 and circulated later in 2014

• Development of comprehensive toolkit on im-plementation of the Nagoya Protocol

o Presented a version of the work done at the expert meeting on biodiversity and business in Brazil

o Experts meeting in Koreao The study was translated into Korean *o The manual is being used as a reference for gov-

ernment officials

• IDLO capacity building project:o Reached 10-15 experts to improve and validate

document

• Project with ABS capacity development initia-tive to Building capacity across African coun-tries (members of AU – 54 countries) to imple-ment Nagoya Protocol on ABS

o Pan-African workshops (2) in 2013 – 140 at each event (organised by ABS capacity building division); preparing a comprehensive report on the implementation of the NP

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The CISDL Sustainable Trade, Investment & Competition Law Research Programme aims to support and enhance present efforts to better integrate economic law principles with en-vironmental and developmental decision making by states, corporations, civil society and IGOs.

TRADE, INVESTMENT & COMPETITION

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OverviewThe area of sustainable economic law, particularly in relation to developing countries, is gaining growing attention; however, much of the existing work on this subject lacks specificity. The Trade, Investment, and Competition Programme aims to fill this gap by clarifying the state of current law, but also by proposing better means of implemen-tation at the national, sub-regional, regional and international level.

Trade, investment and financial laws and policies could foster or frustrate sustainable development. Alongside global rules and active dispute settlement in the World Trade Organization (WTO), 8976 In-ternational Investment Agreements, including Bi-lateral Investment Treaties (BITs), have now been concluded (UNCTAD 2013 World Investment Report) and close to 600 Regional Trade Agree-ments (RTAs) are entering into force (WTO RTA Gateway). There is new impetus for international economic law to support a global green economy and significant potential for international legal in-novation. Research into the impacts and opportuni-ties of international investment law for sustainable development and the possibilities for financial law is expanding exponentially. With many countries reforming their laws and institutions to implement new international instruments for a global green economy, there is a pressing need for legal expertise, capacity and advice.

In contribution to global efforts, the Trade, Invest-ment and Finance Programme in 2013-2017 aims to:

• Advance knowledge and understanding of international trade law for sustainable develop-ment, building global legal research and advi-sory capacity, and disseminating key findings among trade regimes such as the Doha Devel-opment Agenda in the WTO and RTAs.

• Lead legal research and build capacity to strengthen the contribution of international investment law toward sustainable develop-ment, including in the World Bank Interna-tional Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), BITs and investment chapters of RTAs.

• Analyse the implementation of trade, invest-ment and financial law regimes, including innovative legal practices and recent disputes related to sustainable energy and to aviation, taking into account developments in the Energy Charter Treaty, the International Civil Aviation Organization under the Chicago Conventions, and other related areas.

• Research and build capacity on the concept of the global green economy, especially how national and international law facilitates the transition to a greener economy and how such instruments interact with existing international social, environmental and economic legal frameworks.

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Current Projects and Programmes

• UN Environment Programme’s Compendium of Selected Innovative Provisions Promoting Green Economy for Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication

• Chapter Investment Law and Sustainable De-velopment (with Avidan Kent)

• ICTSD Legal Research Paper RTA, Energy and Climate Change

• ICTSD Legal Research Paper Aviation and Cli-mate Change

• Legal briefs from biofuels project in Jamaica (forthcoming)

Publications• UNEP Companion on Global Green Economy

Laws

• Legal aspects of implementing Chicago Con-vention and SD

o SD in International Aviation Book with UN-CITRAL and McGill Institute of International Trade Law

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Programme Highlights• Trained over 25 senior members of the Quebec

and other provincial bars on the CLS on the global community through a Continuing Legal Education Seminar

• OAS Biofuels projecto Trained 10 Jamaican lawyers on international

legal framework for sustainable biofuelso Published 6 legal working papers that speak to

the implementation issues; conducted 3 webi-nars and 2 in-country missions

• Outreach to 2500 participants of UNCCD CoP 10 [Windhoek]

o 50 participants educated on desertification and SD law with a joint side event with the

• Wrote new compendium on global laws for the green economy

• ITCSD research papers on ‘Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Measures in Regional Trade Agreements’ and ‘Addressing the Aviation and Climate Change Challenge’

• Chapter on Investment law and Sustainable Development with Avidan Kent (‘International investment agreements and the emerging green economy: rising to the challenge’) in ‘Invest-ment Law Within International Law: Integra-tionist Perspectives’ (2013) edited by Dr Freya Baetens

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CROSS-CUTTING PROGRAMME

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OverviewWithin the CISDL, the Cross-Cutting Program on Governance and Accountability focuses on projects related to cross-cutting issues within the field of in-ternational sustainable development law and policy. The work includes a variety of issues ranging from understanding the linkages between human rights, development, and the environment to building the capacity of policy-makers and stakeholders to take these linkages into account in the pursuit of sustain-able development.

Key areas of focus include:

• The International Law for Sustainable Devel-opment Partnership — The CISDL chairs, to-gether with the International Law Association, the UNEP, the UNDP and the World Bank, a partnership on implementing international law on sustainable development (ILSD).

• Implementing Treaties and Constitutions on Sustainable Development — The CISDL has undertaken legal research and writing for a new series of books, “Implementing Treaties on Sus-tainable Development,” which examine trends and innovations in local laws to implement global commitments in various treaties related to sustainable development, with Cambridge University Press.

• Corporate Social Responsibility, Criminal Accountability and Global Sustainability — Since 2007, the CISDL has undertaken legal research and consultations to assist the World Future Council’s efforts in establishing a new in-ternational crime to protect the rights of future generations: crimes against future generations.

• Legal Empowerment for Sustainable Devel-opment — In March of 2011, the CISDL hosted a Roundtable Dialogue for Canadians working on Legal Empowerment of the Poor for Sustain-able Livelihoods, in Ottawa, Canada and in 2012, the CISDL launched a new Legal Working Paper Series on Legal Empowerment for Sustainable Development edited by CISDL Lead Counsels Dr. Sumudu Atapattu and Mr. Sébastien Jodoin, which was published in the run-up to Rio+20.

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• Representing Future Generations in Interna-tional Law, Policy and Education: — CISDL Senior Director Dr. Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, a member of the World Future Coun-cil (WFC), leads a pro bono research and dia-logue initiative in collaboration with WICPER Founder H.E. Judge C.G. Weeramantry, Right Livelihoods Awards Founder Jakob von Uexkull, and other advocates and experts. In 2013-2017, this work has evolved into the creation of a new Series of Children’s Books, called ‘Voices of Fu-ture Generations’, which collects and publishes the work of child authors inspired by the pro-visions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Rio+20 Declaration ‘The Future We Want’.

• Land Rights, Sustainability, Health and In-digenous Communities. — For the 2013 – 2017 period, CISDL Lead Counsel Dr. Alex-andra Harrington and CISDL Lead Counsel Dr Konstantia Koutouki will lead a team to research land rights agreements and self-govern-ment agreements between indigenous commu-nities and governments in both developed and developing states, analyzing how these accords reflect sustainable development principles and concerns.

PublicationsFuture Publications

• SD in International Courts and Tribunals (Routledge)

Future presentations• Principles on applying ACR to Civil and Politi-

cal Rights (Routledge)• Sustainable Development in International

Courts and Tribunals (Routledge) – Cordonier Segger & Judge Weeramantry (early 2015)

• Sébastien Jodoin, “Crimes against Future Gener-ations: Implementing Intergenerational Justice through International Criminal Law,” (2010) 10.1 Intergenerational Justice Review 170.

• Duncan French, “Complaint and Grievance Mechanisms in International Dispute Settle-ment” in Duncan French, Nigel White, eds., International Law and Dispute Settlement: New Problems and Techniques (Oxford: Hart, 2009).

• Richard Janda, “Cosmopolitan Citizenship and Pathologies of Pluralism” in Pierre Noreau & Louise Rolland, eds., Mélanges Andrée Lajoie (Montreal: Thémis, 2008) 557-592.

• Sebastien Jodoin, “The Principle of Integration and Interrelationship in International Sustain-able Development Law,” in A. Usha, ed., Envi-ronmental Law: Principles and Governance (Hy-derabad, India: ICFAI University Press, 2008) 83-121.

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Programme Highlights• 200 senior officials from constitutional com-

missions and civil socieitis informed on the rights of future generations and how FG needs can be taken into consideration in policy mak-ing (Budapest presentation)

• Valentina Duran – 200 Chileans educated and informed about environmental governance through a forum at U Chile (September 2013)

• Climate Change, Forests and the Law in Africa: Addressing Governance & Research Challenges held on November 9, 2013 at the University of Cambridge

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REPORT FROM INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT

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A team of international professionals and stu-dents in the International Secretariat sup-ports the research and operations of the

CISDL helping to facilitate the activities of the or-ganization and the fellowship. This group, the CIS-DL International Secretariat, is based at the McGill Faculty of Law with regional offices in University of Nairobi Faculty of Law, University of Chile Fac-ulty of Law and University of Cambridge Faculty of Law.

In the past year, the secretariat transitioned from being a purely Montreal-based group to an interna-tional format with team members throughout the globe. The base of operations remains in Montreal at the McGill Faculty of Law where records and fi-nances are managed, but the new offices allows the International Secretariat more flexibility and access in meeting its key administrative and operational functions. This transition was undertaken to bet-ter match the international nature of the CISDL’s research and operations, which are distributed glob-ally. In each of these regional offices, a Research Officer works to build relationships and assist in ac-tivities in the region coordinates each of the region-al offices. While more work remains to be done in setting up these offices, the CISDL has made large strides in establishing formal relationships with the respective law faculties and in identifying their re-gional portfolios. Going forward, the international structure will ease a variety of operations including fundraising, events, building relationships, public-ity, and more.

Related to the shift toward an international for-mat, the CISDL Secretariat has focused primarily in the past year on key ‘infrastructure’ work. This includes everything from an ongoing effort to up-date the CISDL’s website, to confirming fellowship

members, developing publications and operations database, and more. The primary goal has been to develop a comprehensive system of tracking opera-tions so that the secretariat team can better plan and execute support operations.

The past year also saw the CISDL achieve official charity status. This major achievement marks a new era for the CISDL and gives the organization a big reason to celebrate. While the designation requires additional prudence and responsibilities, it also of-fers the organization improved fundraising abilities and a long overdue recognition of the charitable work done by its members. This status also will fa-cilitate the ability to fundraise through the CISDL’s regional offices through mutual recognition of char-ity status with some of the regional office countries.

The final items of note are the introduction of a new fall symposium event to be held each year in Cam-bridge and the coming launch of the Gonthier Lec-ture Series to be held in the spring every year at the McGill Law Faculty and to complement our Annu-al Research Meeting. These two events will allow the CISDL to more actively promote key legal re-search on sustainable development law and to con-tinue driving debates and discussions on key issues. The International Secretariat had and will continue to lead the implementation of these events based on the guidance and themes of the Lead Counsels, Board of Governors and Senior Director.

The past year has been exciting for the CISDL and that excitement continues as we approach 2015. Thanks to the efforts of the past year, the Interna-tional Secretariat is ready to continue to help the CISDL achieve its goals and mission.

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FINANCIAL REPORT & SUMMARY

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The 2013-2014 financial year saw some big changes for the CISDL – namely the tran-sition from non-profit to charity status.

This evolution represents a great opportunity for the CISDL to increase its global impact through in-creased access to funding sources, but also increases the complexity of the Centre’s financial management and associated responsibilities. As such, adjust-ments to current practices are underway to ensure that the CISDL’s early days as a charity are smooth and productive. Several large project contracts were signed this year, including the “Forest and Climate Change in Congo (FCCC)” project funded by the Center for International Forestry Research for $270,000 USD. Additionally, several large projects from the 2012-2013 financial year were extended. These included the project titled “Implementing the Biodiversity Convention”, funded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH for a total of $221,195, as well as the “Legal Preparedness for Sustainable Development of Biofuels in the Americas” project funded by the Organization of American States for $140,000.

The CISDL’s total revenue for the period of April 1, 2013 – March 31, 2014 was $814,185.39 all from designated grants (projects), small contracts, and the CISDL-ILA online Continuing Legal Educa-tion course, including $459,940 of estimated legal services also being contributed. The CISDL’s total expenses in completing these projects and contracts, including honorariums, travel and all operational and administrative costs, as well as paying outstand-ing costs from previous years, were approximately $743,093.48, including $459,940 worth of legal services also being spent.

The CISDL’s retained earnings due to low admin-

istrative expenses at the end of the fiscal year were $12,023.41. There are $41,258.60 in receivables and $11,030 in payables for outstanding project ex-penses from the 2013 financial year, which will be processed in the 2014 financial year. The projects that were active in the 2013-2014 fi-nancial year were:

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Project Title Revenue (CAD)North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) Index updates $7,516.42

Climate Change, Forests & the Law in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - Addressing Governance & Research Challenges

$85,058.55

Third Edition of the Study “Overview of National and Regional Measures on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-Sharing (ABS)”

$21,117.03

Implementing the Biodiversity Convention (2012-2013 contract) $54,173.22

Implementing the Biodiversity Convention (2013-2014 contract) $48,069.24

Judge Gonthier Symposium $9,823.88

LDC paper on loss and damage $9,846.13

Continuing Legal Education Courses $600.00

UNEP Green Economy: Biosafety issues and the regulations for the implementa-tion of the Law on GMO

$31,243.85

Legal Preparedness for Sustainable Development of Biofuels in Americas $70,443.60

Regional Trade Agreements (RTA) Innovations related to Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Trade

$8,986.17

Only When I Say So: The Involuntary Hospitalization of the Medically Ill $3,500.00

EQPF + MRI Travel Reimbursements

$3,867.30

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BOARD OF GOVERNORS

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Mr. Ashfaq Khalfan,Chair, Board of Governors

Prof. Armand de Mestral,McGill University Faculty of Law

Prof. Francois Crepeau,McGill University Faculty of Law

Prof. Richard Janda,McGill University Faculty of Law

Dr. Kamal Hossain,International Law Association

Prof. Jorge CabreraCISDL Lead Counsel

Maya Prabhu,CISDL Lead Counsel

Mr. Pierre Gonthier,CISDL Treasurer

Dr. Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger (non-fiduciary and non-voting),CISDL Director

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INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT OFFICERS

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M. Patrick Reynaud Senior Manager

M. Jameson Jones-Doyle Senior Finance Officer

M. Ayman Cherkaoui Senior Communications Officer

M. Christopher Hooton International Secretariat Manager

M. Conner Tidd Assistant Manager

Ms. Stephanie Forte Publications Officer

Ms. Tina Hlimi Research Officer

Ms. Katherine Lofts Research Officer

Ms. Maureen Mbaka Research Officer

M. Rodrigo Mella Research Officer

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