On 9 August 2019, a workshop on “Resistance to development projects in Latin America: Taking stock of the role of law” will be organized at Universidad del Rosario in Bogotá, Colombia by LDRN member Dr. Giedre Jokubauskaite (University of Glasgow) and Prof. Johanna Cortes Nieto (Universidad del Rosario).
Researchers interested in presenting at the workshop are asked to send a 300 word abstract to the organizers by 17 June 2019. Those interested in attending without presenting are asked to send an e-mail indicating their interest by the same date. Contact details and further information are available here in the full call for submissions.
The workshop will cover questions including (but not limited to):
– Recent case law that invokes constitutional rights to challenge extractive industries, infrastructure projects, agricultural development projects (e.g. in the context of the current transitional justice process), overall what has come to be termed as mega-development projects;
– Recent trends in applying administrative procedures relevant to development projects, e.g. consultation requirements or environmental impact assessment;
– Role of law in public-private partnerships;
– The role of international investment law in conditioning government policies and spending;
– The role (and usefulness) of national and international environmental law in contesting development planning;
– Recent trends in the governance of the relationship between projects and communities, e.g. governance by contracts;
– Public interest litigation as an attempt to challenge development projects;
– The relationship between negotiation and formalisation processes of development projects, and the efforts of peace-building at the local level.