International Trade Law and Human Rights: The ILA’s 2008 “Rio de Janeiro Declaration”

Abstract

This chapter discusses the ILA Resolution on International Trade Law and Human Rights as submitted by ILA's International Trade Law Committee (ITLC) to the 73rd ILA Conference at Rio de Janeiro and approved, in a duly revised and shortened text, by ILA in August 2008. As international trade and trade law are mere instruments for enabling citizens to satisfy human demand for scarce goods and services through mutually beneficial cooperation among citizens across frontiers, promoting mutual consistency of international trade law and human rights is important also for poverty reduction and for strengthening the moral and democratic legitimacy of international law. The ITLC proposals for elaborating an ILA Resolution on International Trade Law and Human Rights focused on legal and judicial remedies in the field of international trade, with due respect for diverse constitutional traditions regarding regulation of human rights and economic freedom in national and international trade law. Keywords: human rights; international law; International Law Association (ILA); international trade law; International Trade Law Committee (ITLC); Rio de Janeiro Declaration