Book Description

International Financial Institutions and Sustainable Development elaborates the proposition that when the World Bank supports development projects in the Global South, it is not only providing money but also making international law. Balancing theoretical and practice-oriented elements, the book introduces researchers, teachers, and students in international sustainable development law to the safeguard policies of international financial institutions (IFIs). It also scrutinizes the case law of independent accountability mechanisms that interpret those policies and afford recourse to individuals and communities adversely affected by development projects. The book's focus on the procedural and substantive features of IFIs' safeguard systems contributes to a more concrete understanding of these organizations' participation in the international lawmaking process on sustainable development. Closely analyzing the relationship between the IFIs’ accountability mechanisms and the law of international responsibility, the book puts IFIs in the spotlight and provides a legal critique of their activities to match their notoriety in popular consciousness and to enhance their accountability to those they harm. By approaching international (economic) law and sustainable development through the lens of economic, environmental, and social issues arising in development projects primarily in the Global South, the book presents a needed counterbalance to existing literature on the topic.

Commentators

Celine Tan is Professor of International Economic Law. She is also the Co-Director of the Centre for Law, Regulation and Governance of the Global Economy based at Warwick Law School. Celine is a founding member of The IEL Collective, a community for scholars and practitioners interested in critical reflection of the interactions between law and the global economy.

Olabisi Delebayo Akinkugbe is the Purdy Crawford Chair in Business Law and Associate Professor at the Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University. Professor Akinkugbe's research covers several topics on issues in and at the intersection of public international law, international economic law, human rights, law and development, international courts, and regional economic integration in Africa.