Faundez, Julio; Tan, Celine --- "Introduction" [2010] ELECD 625; in Faundez, Julio; Tan, Celine (eds), "International Economic Law, Globalization and Developing Countries" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010)

Book Title: International Economic Law, Globalization and Developing Countries

Editor(s): Faundez, Julio; Tan, Celine

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848441132

Section: Chapter 1

Section Title: Introduction

Author(s): Faundez, Julio; Tan, Celine

Number of pages: 9

Extract:

1. Introduction
Julio Faundez and Celine Tan

The ongoing process of economic globalization has been accompanied by
a comprehensive and ambitious agenda aimed at incorporating develop-
ing countries into the global economy. A critical feature of this agenda is
the prominent role played by international economic law as a vehicle for
bringing together the complex and seemingly disparate components of
economic globalization. The prominent role played by law is manifested
in the comprehensive codification of international trade, the proliferation
of international investment treaties, the enhanced role of international
adjudication and the dominant role played by international financial
institutions, such as the World Bank and the IMF, in national economic
policymaking and governance.
The surge of international economic law and the consequent legalisa-
tion and judicialisation of international economic relations would suggest
that the weaker members of the inter-state system have fared well during
the past three decades of economic globalization. After all, as a corollary
to assumptions about the rule of law, it would be reasonable to expect
that the development and application of international legal rules would
protect the rights and interests of weaker states. This expectation is rein-
forced by two parallel processes that have taken place in recent years: the
widespread democratisation experienced by most states in the developing
world and the new prominence achieved by the international human rights
movement.
Yet, despite these seemingly auspicious conditions, developing coun-
tries, as a group, have not fared as well as expected. Unlike economically
powerful countries, developing countries ...