Call for papers for "Sustainable Development as Fundamental Pillar of Economic Governance and Public Affairs Ravenna", 9-10 November 2023

Abstract submission deadline: midnight 18 September 2023 (CET)

The Department of Legal Studies of the Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, with the support of SIDI DIEcon (the Interest Group on International Economic Law of the Italian Society of International Law), and the Jean Monnet Module Re-Globe, will host on the 9 and 10 of November 2023, at the Ravenna Campus, an international conference entitled “Sustainable Development as Fundamental Pillar of Economic Governance and Public Affairs”.

In 1987, sustainable development has been defined by the UN World Commission on Environment and Development as the “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. It has subsequently been recalled in the preamble and the text of the major international agreements of the global governance (e.g. the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 2015 Paris Agreement; the WTO Agreements; the most recent regional trade and investment agreements). In the UN 2030 Agenda entitled “Transforming our World”, adopted in 2015, the principle of sustainable development has been articulated in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be realized with “the participation of all countries, all stakeholders, and all people”. And, in July 2022, the UN General Assembly recognized “the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a human right”.

At the regional level, sustainable development is included in the treaties of the European Union and represents a pillar of both EU internal and external action.

Sustainable development plays a vital role in many areas of international law, it is a prominent element in the EU legal system, and it is a principle contemplated as a constitutional value at national level.

We therefore propose the present call for papers to gather original proposals investigating on the principle of sustainable development and on its role as guiding principle for international, EU and national economic governance and public affairs.

Submissions may investigate on the impact of sustainable development in different areas, including:

• sustainable development as an international legal principle
• the WTO and its reform proposals
• sustainable development in preferential trade agreements / megaregionals
• sustainable development in international investment law
• investment finance
• the European Union and the SDGs of the UN 2030 Agenda
• climate change litigation
• sustainable development & energy
• biodiversity and natural resources
• high labour standards
• business and human rights
• the law of the sea, including maritime domestic law
• transparency and participation in international decision making and management, including at the domestic level
• sustainable development in domestic legislation
• sustainable development and the role of civil society and business sector in international, EU and national legal orders

Paper submission procedure

Abstracts may be submitted in English or Italian by scholars, practitioners, professionals working in national and European institutions and international organizations, as well as by post-doc, PhD candidates and young researchers.

Submissions must not exceed 800 words, and have to be submitted to the following mail addresses:

andrea.mensi2@unibo.it alessandra.quarta5@unibo.it klarissa.martins2@unibo.it

In addition to the abstract, each submission should contain a separate file with information on:

• The author’s name and affiliation, contact details, including e-mail address and phone number;
• A short (one-page) author’s CV, including a list of relevant publications.

Timeline

The deadline for the submission of abstracts is midnight 18 September 2023 (CET). We expect to be able to inform successful applicants by 25 September 2023.

Successful applicants will be expected to develop their conference papers for presentation at the Conference, which will take place in Ravenna. Draft papers (6000-8000 words including footnotes) must be submitted by the authors on 20 October 2023 and can be distributed to the participants to the Conference. The Conference will be held in hybrid format (online and in-person) and the selected papers will subsequently be published in an open access volume edited by the Conference Convenors.

Convenors

Elisa Baroncini, Federico Casolari, Pietro Manzini, Attila Tanzi, Greta Tellarini

Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna