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Fresh Water and International Economic Law

Fresh Water and International Economic Law

Author: Edith Brown Weiss; Laurence Boisson De Chazournes; Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780199274673
Published In: September 2005
Format: Hardback , 508 pages
Jurisdiction: International ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

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Fresh water is a highly topical issue which touches on human rights, international economic law and environmental resource issues
It is written from a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective
It is relevant to both developed and developing countries across the globe
All contributors are experts in in international economic and environmental law.

Fresh water resources are at the same time ecological, economic, social, and cultural goods and must be managed accordingly. However, efforts to manage these resources are complicated by tensions arising from possible clashes between the regimes favouring privatization, trade and investment liberalization, and domestic and international regimes governing water resources, environmental protection and human rights. The relationships between the international economic and legal framework on the one hand and fresh water resource management and protection on the other, are complex and multifaceted.

This book addresses the key interdisciplinary issues that increasingly confront policy makers, tribunals, arbitration bodies and other institutions. It focuses primarily on law, but also includes perspectives from economics, political science and other disciplines. It examines such questions as are governments free to decide whether or not to export water resources? Can foreign investors sue host states for adopting measures to control water pollution? Can international trade rules be used to reduce or eliminate water related subsidies? Do rules on the liberalization of water services affect domestic and international human rights obligations relating to water supply? More generally, how do the procedural rights of states, individuals, affected communities and investors affect decisions regarding the right to drinking water, the rights of investors to exploit water resources, and the rights of governments to protect their lakes, rivers and groundwater?

Readership: Academics, students, policy makers, practitioners and public interest groups in the field of water resources, economics and human rights.

List of Tables and Figures
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
Introduction
Part 1 Trade of Fresh Water: Geopolitics, Law, and Economics
1: Urs Luterbacher and Ellen Wiegandt: Cooperation or Confrontation: Sustainable Water Use in an International Context
2: A. Daniel Tarlock: Water Transfers: A Means to Achieve Sustainable Water Use
3: Edith Brown Weiss: Water Transfers and International Trade Law
Part 2 Water Services, the GATS and Related Issues
4: Stephen C. McCaffrey: The Human Right to Water
5: Mireille Cossy: Water Services at the WTO
6: Elizabeth Tuerk, Aaron Ostrovsky and Robert Speed: GATS and its Impact on Private Sector Participation in Water Services
7: Henri Smets: Economics of Water Services and the Right to Water
Part 3 Water Subsidies and Agriculture
8: Ronald Jaubert and Mohamed Al-Dbiyet: Ground Water Regulation and Water Crisis Rhetoric: Syria as a Case Study
9: Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder: Water, Agriculture and Subsidies in the International Trading System
Part 4 Water and Investment
10: Andreas Ziegler: Water-Related Investment: A European Perspective
11: Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder and Edith Brown Weiss: International Investment Rules and Water: Learning from the NAFTA Experience
12: Serge Pannatier and Olivier Ducrey: Water Concession and Protection of Foreign Investments Under International Law
13: Philippe Cullet and Alix Gowlland: Local Communities and Water Investments
Part 5 Resolution of Water Disputes, with Special Emphasis on Economic Issues
14: Laurence Boisson de Chazournes: Water and Economics: Trends in Dispute Settlement Procedures and Practice
15: Makane Moise Mbengue and Mara Tignino: Transparency, Public Participation and Amicus Curiae in Water Disputes
Appendix A: General Comment No 15, The right to water (Articles 11 and 12 of the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights)
Appendix B: The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1947, as amended (extracts)
Appendix C: The General Agreement on Trade in Services (extracts)
Appendix D: 1993 Statement by the Governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States
Appendix E: International Joint Commission, Protection of the Waters of the Great Lakes: Final Report to the Governments of Canada and the United States, February 22, 2000 (extracts)
Appendix F: Chapter 11 of NAFTA (extracts)
Appendix G: Bibliography
Appendix H: Selected Websites
Index

Edith Brown Weiss, Francis Cabell Brown Professor of International Law, Georgetown University, Washington DC., Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, Head of Department of Public International Law and International Organisation, Faculty of Law, University of Geneva, and Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Managing Attorney, Geneva Office, Centre for International Environmental Law

Contributors:

Urs Luterbacher and Ellen Wiegandt

Daniel Tarlock

Edith Brown Weiss

Stephen C. McCaffrey

Mereille Cossy

Elizabeth Tuerk, Aaron Ostrovsky and Robert Speed

Henri Smets

Ronald Jaubert and Mohamed Al-Dbiyet

Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder

Andreas Ziegler

Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder and Edith Brown Weiss

Serge Pannatier and Olivier Ducrey

Philippe Cullet and Alix Gowlland

Laurence Boisson de Chazournes

Makane Moise Mbengue and Mara Tignino

"A superb analysis of water as an issue in international trade. This carefully-edited volume examines a central, yet little studied, emerging topic in international economic law--the law of fresh water trade. Every important facet is given attention by well-researched essays written by a leading or soon to be better-known scholars. No other book even begins to cover this ground. All of the studies are relevant for thinking through the complex implications of World Trade Organization rules for transborder commerce in water. The book gives due attention to the rules for goods, services, and subsidies, and also explores trends in bilateral and regional trade agreements. As controversies about water become more important over the coming years, this volume is sure to remain the essential first reference for regulators and scholars." - Steve Charnovitz, Associate Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School

"...goes beyond more traditional, restricted, understandings of legal aspects related to water. Its conclusions will be a most valid contribution to discussion concerning the development of international economic law. It should unreservedly become an obligatory source of reference for administrators, regulators, practitioners and scholars." - Ana Barreira, Journal of Environmental Law