On 24 September 2012 Heads of State and Government attended the High-Level meeting of the UN General Assembly on The Rule of Law at the National and International Levels reaffirmed in a solemn Declaration their "commitment to the rule of law", encompassing States and international organizations on the international level and all persons, institutions and entities, public and private, on the national level, and agreed that any "collective response to the challenges and opportunities arising from the many complex political, social and economic transformations ... must be guided by ..., as it is the foundation of friendly and equitable relations between States and the basis on which just and fair societies are built."
This Regional Conference, aptly taking place at the crossroads between the developed and the emerging world in times of global crisis, aims to concentrate on some manifestations of the rule of law, with particular reference to Governance, Trade and Resources. These areas are at the heart of current developments on the global scene, within a framework of international regulations, multiple actors, changing patterns of authority between and within States, emerging global needs leading to a renewed attention to human rights, energy and development.
In this context, this Regional Conference will explore cutting-edge issues within each field but also questions arising from the interplay between them. Panels under the general theme of Governance will provide both the background discussion on the architecture of international law and the prospects of further development in certain areas, such as the role assigned to actors on the international scene and the shifting structures of mechanisms on the protection of human rights, financial sovereignty and dispute settlement. Panels under the general theme of Trade will explore issues related to the workings of the WTO, investment and shipping. How these faces of reality in trade project into a more comprehensive system of trade governance is the natural query arising from their parallel development and invites further reflexion. Panels under the general theme Recourses will discuss new challenges pertaining to the management of shared resources, including energy and cultural resources, and their impact on sustainable development.
Within the context of international law, both private and public, academics and practitioners alike are invited to contribute their experience and expertise on the matter and explore areas of cross-fertilization in these important and continuously evolving fields.
