Workshop on International Law, Natural Resources and Sustainable
Development
The Articulation and Fate of Development Claims under International Law
Margot Salomon
School of Law, London School of Economics
The early claims for a New International Economic Order and permanent sovereignty by
developing countries over their natural resources, efforts to delineate a body of
international development law, followed by the affirmation of a human right to
development, were all attempts to have economic justice reflected in international law.
More recently, we see international human rights law in the area of socio-economic rights
applied to the extraterritorial obligations of states. This paper will explore how development
aspirations have found expression in international law over the past several decades and
draw some conclusions on the fate of development claims.