Typology of instruments of public environmental international law

At the second meeting of the focal points appointed by the Governments of the signatory countries of the Declaration on the application of Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, which was held in Guadalajara, Mexico, on 16 and 17 April 2013, a decision was made to form working groups to advance towards the creation of a regional instrument. Thus, a working group on access rights and the regional instrument was formed for the purpose of gaining more in-depth knowledge on access rights in order to make a proposal on the nature and scope of the application of a regional instrument. At its first meeting, the working group determined that a study describing the different types of international instruments would be useful in helping it achieve its objective. This report explores the different types of instruments that are used in public international law, with an emphasis on the instruments that are relevant to Principle 10. The report has three chapters, which are as follows. The first chapter analyses the term “international instrument” and discusses the distinction between binding and non-binding legal instruments, illustrated with examples. The second chapter describes the function of implementation and compliance mechanisms in an international instrument, providing examples of these mechanisms. The third chapter presents the multilateral and regional instruments relevant to access rights regarding information, participation and justice in environmental matters in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Services in regional agreements between Latin American and developed countries

Includes bibliography

Rigidities and fiscal space in Latin America: a comparative case study

Includes Bibliography

Manual for completing the questionnaire on measures affecting services trade in the hemisphere

Includes bibliography

Proposal on indicators for follow-up to the goals of the International Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

Educational decentralization models in Latin America

Includes bibliography

Technological maturity in the world petrochemical industry

Includes bibliography

Dimensions of poverty and gender policies

Includes bibliography

The slow comeback of industrial policies in Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

Productive development in open economies

Includes bibliography

Population, social equity and changing production patterns

Includes bibliography

Income poverty and unsatisfied basic needs

Incluye Bibliografía

Analysis of trade flows between Puerto Rico and CARICOM and prospects for integration

Includes bibliography

Productivity, social expenditure and income distribution in Latin America

This paper discusses the role of institutions and structural change in shaping income inequality. It is argued that while social expenditure and direct redistribution are crucial for improving income distribution, sustainable equality requires structural change to create decent jobs. The relative importance of these variables in different countries is analyzed and a typology suggested. It is argued that the most equal countries in the world combine strong institutions in favor of redistribution and knowledge-intensive production structures that sustain growth and employment in the long run. Both institutions and the production structure in Latin America fail to foster equality and this explains its extremely high levels of inequality. The last decade witnessed significant advances in reducing inequality in Latin America, but these advances are threatened by slow productivity growth and weak structural change.