Multi-Stakeholderism in the Development of International Law

Abstract

This chapter is concerned with the role of multi-stakeholderism in the development of international law, which is an increasingly important phenomenon due to globalization, the growing role of non-State actors, and the emergence of a global civil society which claims to pursue community interests. The main focus of the multistakeholder approach lies with ensuring more inclusive structures of governance. In some fields, such as human rights, environmental law, and the law of the information society, it is more advanced than in other normative fields, such as international economic affairs. Multi-stakeholderism allows for the building and the expression of community interests and thus also provides orientation and important preparatory work for the inter-governmental process. The involvement of all relevant stakeholders strengthens the effectiveness of law — creating processes and the subsequent implementation of the law.

Community Interest and International Legal Order

“…Not all interests are protected by law: non-legal interests should be distinguished from legal interests, and only the latter benefit from legal protection as confirmed by the International Court of Justice in the South West Africa case, when it stressed that the existence of an "interest" does not in itself imply that such an interest has a specific legal character" [6].…”

A Path Toward Sustainable Development Along the Belt and Road

“…Endorsing multistakeholder partnership, particularly since the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development, the UN recognizes the value of drafting new norms 'based on a wider knowledge base' and the need to close existing gaps regarding democracy and legitimacy in global governance. 138 Non-State actors are important in fast-developing fields that require flexible, technical standards, and consensus among large constituencies. 139 Development assistance is such a field necessitating 'more inclusive processes for setting standards', especially today as new (non-Western) donors are emerging and private entities are assuming bigger roles.…”

Gobernanza glocal/global deliberativa hacia la normativización democrática: la necesidad de legitimidad en compatibilización de las medidas pandémicas de excepción vs. derechos humanos

“…Como ya reconoció la OECD (2005) -Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development-, la gobernanza necesita adaptarse y transformarse continuamente para mantenerse constantemente capaz de responder a las presiones de diferentes fuentes a nivel global y en diferentes procesos de integración. De esta manera, se regula satisfactoriamente los problemas ordinarios relacionados con los Estados, en evidente multi-stakeholderism (Benedek, 2011).…”

“…Actualmente, en vista de este modelo de multi-stakeholderism (Benedek, 2011), con acción plural y multidimensional en las relaciones internacionales, existen algunas definiciones posibles para la gobernanza, entre las cuales destacamos la de Gonçalves (2011) para quien la gobernanza global tiene:…”