Centre for International Sustainable Development Law

The mission of the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL) is to promote sustainable societies and the protection of ecosystems by advancing the understanding, development and implementation of international sustainable development law. The CISDL is engaged in six primary areas of sustainable development law research, each of which is led by a CISDL Lead Counsel based at a developing or developed country law faculty or international organisation (Trade, Investment & Competition Biodiversity & Biosafety Health & Hazards Climate Change Human Rights & Poverty Eradication Natural Resources). There are also two Lead Counsels responsible for cross-cutting sustainable development law issues, focusing on Governance, Institutions & Accountability. CISDL members include learned jurists and scholars from all regions of the world, and a diversity of legal traditions. As a result of its ongoing legal scholarship and research, the CISDL publishes books, articles, working papers and legal briefs in English, Spanish and French. The CISDL hosts academic workshops, dialogue sessions, legal expert panels parallel to international negotiations, law courses and seminar series, and conferences to further its legal research agenda. It provides instructors, lecturers and capacity-building materials for developing country governments and international organisations in national and international law in the field of sustainable development, and works with countries to develop national laws to implement international treaties in these areas.