Abstract

Though this Chapter concerns the international legal implications of the regulation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), it does not seek to cover what has, by now, become well-trodden ground. In particular, it will provide neither an exposition of the 2000 Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety nor consider in any detail the relationship between that international agreement and others, specifically the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement). Rather, the aim is to consider a number of discrete international legal issues arising from the regulation of GMOs, and especially how general rules of international law, together with more general trends in related legal and policy fields, are likely to prove increasingly apposite in the ongoing debate over how to manage and govern GMO activity. In particular, the Chapter will consider two specific issues: first, the role of treaty interpretation in promoting synergies and reconciling apparently conflicting primary rules; and, secondly, the utility of the concept of sustainable development in determining a balanced framework for the inclusion of socio-economic considerations within GMO decision-making processes, as permitted under the Cartagena Protocol.