The agriculture sector faces multiple globally interactive environmental and social challenges: greenhouse gases emissions, biodiversity loss, food security, and human rights of tenure right holders and indigenous peoples. The ALIC Zero Draft has adopted an exciting angle to tackle these issues. By focusing on the ‘investment contracts involving transaction of tenure and related rights’, the guide actually contributes to setting in advance the framework for actors and activities on the agricultural land in the future.[1] I also find it very insightful and comprehensive in terms of avoiding conflicts between various actors and improving their performances on sustainable agricultural practices.
Before going into detail, I was wondering could the working group clarify the following points about references?[2]
a. ‘the Guide refrains from making specific references to States, identifying particular domestic legislation, citing case studies or quoting contract clauses.’
Does this mean the guide refrains from citing domestic cases or also from cases from international courts or arbitrations?
b. ‘Instead, the Guide refers to international instruments…’
The following example documents are mainly international declarations and guidance, i.e., non-binding. Does the guide also refer to relevant binding international treaties or cases from international courts?
For instance, 3.111 ‘…international courts increasingly require States to conduct and demand an environmental impact assessment…’. A footnote with relevant case numbers will be helpful to support this claim.
Prof. Yixin Xu