L’accès de la société civile à la justice internationale économique
The end of the cold war marked an unprecedented new era of privatisation, liberalisation, and deregulation. Internet and the numerous technological advancements have brought citizens of this world closer at an astonishing degree. The world in the XXIst century seems more interdependent than ever before. A number of contemporary problematic issues significantly bypass State controls and borders. They are for instance related to foreign direct investment, human rights, the environment, corporate social responsibility, etc. Globalisation marks the State’s retreat in favour of non-state actors. In this light, civil society and multinationals appear as significant partners in the international legal order. This is in part reflected in the access given to multinationals/investors to international trade law justice. They have the capacity to file claims against states in front of international arbitration jurisdictions for violations of their trade rights as provided under BITs. However, what about the non-trade rights that may have been violated by investors? The present study explores the motives that would justify civil society’s access to international trade law justice. The purpose of such access would be to stand for non-trade rights, raised by problematic issues inherent to globalization, against States and multinationals, and that cannot be remedied solely through unilateral nor interstate efforts.
civil society non-trade rights international trade law justice non-state actors international legal order