Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T22:27:02.288Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Soft law instruments on Arctic investment and sustainable development

Part of: International Law for Sustainability in Arctic Resource Development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 March 2020

Kong Soon Lim Open the ORCID record for Kong Soon Lim [Opens in a new window]
Kong Soon Lim*
Affiliation:
Associate, Messrs. Izral Partnership, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
*
Author for correspondence: Kong Soon Lim, E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In recent years, two soft law instruments have emerged to promote sustainable development in the Arctic, namely the Arctic Investment Protocol by the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on the Arctic and the Arctic Economic Council’s Code of Ethics. These instruments seek to foster sustainable development through responsible investment and good business practices. The emergence of these soft law instruments by non-State actors demonstrates an interest from the business sector and Arctic stakeholders to develop business norms and standards of sustainable development that are specific to the region. In understanding the potential and scope of these instruments, this paper considers the role of both instruments in driving sustainable development in the Arctic.

Keywords

Arctic lawArctic Economic CouncilArctic Investment ProtocolSoft lawSustainable development
Type
Commentary
Information
Polar Record , Volume 56 , 2020 , e11
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

AEC. (2015). Official opening of the Arctic Economic Council Secretariat Tromsø. Arctic Economic Council. https://arcticeconomiccouncil.com/official-opening-of-the-arctic-economic-secretariat-tromso/ (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
AEC. (2017). Arctic Economic Council Secretariat’s Annual Report 2017. Arctic Economic Council. https://arcticeconomiccouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/AECS-report-2017.pdf (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
AEC. (2018a). Code of Ethics of the Arctic Economic Council. Arctic Economic Council. https://arcticeconomiccouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Code-of-Ethics.pdf (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
AEC. (2018b). AEC Investments & Infrastructure Working Group: Mandate. Arctic Economic Council. https://arcticeconomiccouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/IIWG-Mandate.pdf (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
AEC. (2018c). Strategic Planning Document 2019–2021. Arctic Economic Council. https://arcticeconomiccouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/AEC-StrategicPlan-2019-2021.pdf (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
AEC. (2019a). Arctic Economic Council Secretariat’s Annual Report 2018. Arctic Economic Council. https://arcticeconomiccouncil.com/the-aec-in-2018/ (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
AEC. (2019b). Statement to the 2019 Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting. Arctic Economic Council. https://arcticeconomiccouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/AEC-Deliverable-final.pdf (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
AEC. (2019c). The State of the Maritime Transportation in the Arctic. Arctic Economic Council Maritime Transportation Working Group. https://arcticeconomiccouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/AEC-Maritime-Transportation-WG-report.pdf (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
Arctic Council. (1996) Ottawa Declaration on the Establishment of the Arctic Council. Arctic Council. https://oaarchive.arctic-council.org/handle/11374/85 (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
Arctic Council. (1998). Terms of Reference for a Sustainable Development Program. Arctic Council. https://oaarchive.arctic-council.org/handle/11374/1658 (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
Baerenholdt, J. O. (1997). Regionalization and regionalism: A duality in transnational regional cooperation in the Arctic. In Lyck, L. (Ed.), Social-Economic Development in Greeland and in other Small Nordic Jurisdictions. Copenhagen: Nyt fra SamfundsvidenskaberneGoogle Scholar
Canada. (2015). Planning for a Sustainable Future: A Federal Sustainable Development Strategy for Canada. Environment Canada. www.ec.gc.ca/dd-sd/f93cd795-0035-4daf-86d1-53099bd303f9/fsds_v4_en.pdf (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
Cutler, A. C. (2002). Private international regimes and interfirm cooperation. In Hall, R. B. and Biersteker, T. J. (Eds.), The Emergence of Private Authority in Global Governance. Cambridge: Cambridge University PressGoogle Scholar
D’Amato, A. (2009). Softness in international law: A self-serving quest for new legal aaterials: A reply to Jean d’ Aspremont. The European Journal of International Law, 20(3), 879–910. doi: 10.1093/ejil/chp067Google Scholar
Denmark. (2011). Kingdom of Denmark Strategy for the Arctic 2011-2020. Government of Denmark, the Faroes and Greenland.Google Scholar
Exner-Pirot, H. (2013). What is the Arctic a case of? The Arctic as a regional environmental security complex and the implications for policy. The Polar Journal, 3(1), 120–135. doi: 10.1080/2154896X.2013.766006Google Scholar
Fredrikson, A. (2018, April 12). How can the AEC facilitate responsible economic development of the Arctic (Presentation by Anu Fredrikson, Director of the AEC at the Arctic Business Forum 2018).Google Scholar
Gahr Store, J. (2015, Dec 10). Lowering Tensions in the High North. Medium: The Future of Conflict. https://medium.com/the-future-of-conflict/lowering-tensions-in-the-high-north-a915f0efb411 (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
Griffiths, F. (1988). Introduction: The Arctic as an international political region. In Möttölä, K. (Ed.), The Arctic Challenge: Nordic and Canadian Approaches to Security and Cooperation in an Emerging International Region. Colorado: Westview PressGoogle Scholar
Guggenheim. (2016, Jan 21). Guggenheim Partners Endorses World Economic Forum’s Arctic Investment Protocol. Guggenheim Partners. https://www.guggenheimpartners.com/firm/news/guggenheim-partners-endorses-world-economic-forums/ (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
Guzman, A.T. & Meyer, T. L. (2010). International soft law. Journal of Legal Analysis, 2(1), 171–222. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.1353444Google Scholar
Halinen, H. (2016). The Arctic Council in Perspective: Moving Forward. Arctic Yearbook 2016. https://arcticyearbook.com/images/yearbook/2016/Commentaries/1.Halinen.pdf (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
Ingimundarson, V. (2014). Managing a contested region: The Arctic Council and the politics of Arctic governance. The Polar Journal, 4(1), 183–198. doi: 10.1080/2154896X.2014.913918Google Scholar
Keskitalo, E.C.H. (2004). Negotiating the Arctic: The Construction of an International Region. London: RoutledgeCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knecht, S. (2013). Arctic Regionalism in Theory and Practice: From Cooperation to Integration?. Arctic Yearbook 2013. https://arcticyearbook.com/images/yearbook/2013/Scholarly_Papers/8.KNECHT.pdf (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
Koivurova, T. (2017). Why and how to study Arctic law. In Conde, E. and, Sánchez, S.I. (Eds.), Global Challenges in the Arctic Region: Sovereignty, Environment and Geopolitical Balance. London: RoutledgeGoogle Scholar
Kristoffersen, C. (2017, Oct 23). Going Local! – Reaching High Goals From the Ground Up. High North News. https://www.highnorthnews.com/en/node/47907 (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
Meyer, T. (2009). Soft law as delegation. Fordham International Law Journal, 32(3), 888–941.Google Scholar
Minerd, S. (2016, May 20). Sustainable Development: The Future of Investing. Guggenheim Investment. https://www.guggenheiminvestments.com/institutional/perspectives/global-cio-outlook/sustainable-development-the-future-of-investing (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
Norway. (2006). The Norwegian Government’s High North Strategy. Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. https://www.regjeringen.no/globalassets/upload/ud/vedlegg/strategien.pdf (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
Norway. (2014). Norway’s Arctic Policy. Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. https://www.regjeringen.no/globalassets/departementene/ud/vedlegg/nord/nordkloden_en.pdf (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
Olsson, I.A. (2013). Four competing approaches to international soft law. Scandinavian Studies in Law, 58, 177–196Google Scholar
Pelyasov, A. (2013). Russian Strategy of the Development of the Arctic Zone & the Provision of National Security until 2020. Arctic Yearbook 2013. https://arcticyearbook.com/arctic-yearbook/2013/2013-commentaries/58-russian-strategy-of-the-development-of-the-arctic-zone-and-the-provision-of-national-security-until-2020 (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
Poppel, B. (2018). Sustainable development and sustainability in Arctic political discourses. In Nuttall, M., Christensen, T.R. & Siegert, M.J. (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of the Polar Regions. Oxon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Reisman, W. M. (2005). The democratization of contemporary international law-making process and the differentiation of their application. In Wolfrum, R. and Roeben, V. (Eds.), Developments of International Law in Treaty Making. Berlin: SpringerGoogle Scholar
Roston, E. (2016), The world has discovered a $1 trillion ocean. Bloomberg Business. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-21/the-world-has-discovered-a-1-trillion-ocean (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
Russia. (2012). Report on Implementing the Principles of Sustainable Development in the Russian Federation. Russian Interagency Working Group of Experts on Russia’s Parcticipation in Rio+20. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/1043natrepeng.pdf (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
Søndergaard, J.S. (2018). When Words Matter: The Concept of “Sustainable Development” Derailed with Words like “Economy”, “Social” & “Environment”. Arctic Yearbook 2018. https://arcticyearbook.com/images/yearbook/2018/Scholarly_Papers/6_AY2018_Sndergaard.pdf (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
Sweeney, T. (2016, May 4). The Arctic Economic Council Makes an Entrance. Interview by C. Winderyer. News Deeply. https://www.newsdeeply.com/arctic/community/2016/05/04/the-arctic-economic-council-makes-an-entrance (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
United States. (2013). National Strategy for the Arctic Region. The White House. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/docs/nat_arctic_strategy.pdf (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
Vauraste, T. (2016). Arctic trade, Vulnerable Societies and Environment – Complex Interplay of Varied Interest. In UArctic Congress. UArctic Congress 2016 Abstract Book. https://www.uarctic.org/media/1596689/uarctic-congress2016-abstract-book.pdf (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
Vauraste, T. (2017) An Investment Model for the Arctic. The Wilson Quarterly. https://wilsonquarterly.com/quarterly/into-the-arctic/an-investment-model-for-the-arctic/ (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
WCED. (1987). Our Common Future: World Commission on Environment and Development. Geneva: Oxford University PressGoogle Scholar
Weil, P. (1983). Towards Relative Normativity in International Law. The American Journal of International Law, 77(3), 413–442. doi: 10.2307/2201073CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weiss, T.G., Seyle, D.C. and Coolidge, K. (2013). The Rise of Non-State Actors in Global Governance. Broomfield: One Earth Future FoundationGoogle Scholar
World Economic Forum. (2014). Demystifying the Arctic. WEF Global Agenda Council on the Arctic. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GAC/2014/WEF_GAC_Arctic_DemystifyingArtic_Report_2014.pdf (accessed on 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar
World Economic Forum. (2015). Arctic Investment Protocol: Guidelines for Responsible Investment in the Arctic. WEF Global Agenda Council on the Arctic. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Arctic_Investment_Protocol.pdf (accessed 5 Aug 2019)Google Scholar