Transnational Law and Resource Management: The role of a private legal system in the promotion of sustainable development in the mining industry

• Main Author: Nott, Adam
• Other Authors: Curran, Deborah
• Language: en
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: transnational law; reflexive law; mining; sustainable development
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1828/5172

Within the transnational legal sphere, internal and external private legal systems regulate alongside a pluralism of national and international legal systems. This thesis explores the elements of transnational private legal systems that are external to a single organization or company and whether they can elevate the higher-order principle of sustainability within the mining sector. A private legal system would broadly incorporate legal rules and obligations for corporate governance, and specifically for integrating sustainable development into the mining industry. Using the lens of reflexive law, this thesis explores five observable trends of a private legal system: interorganizational network; regulatory hybridization; private juridification; civic constitutionalism; and international judicialisation. A variety of methodological tools are used to determine if the first three trends, which are linked to the emergence of private legal obligations, exist. Through qualitative content analysis this thesis adds to the empirical literature supporting reflexive law and provides insights into the ability of private legal systems to govern resource issues. The evidence of any private juridification and civic constitutionalism occurring within the mining sector is detailed, and the consequences for the regulation and development of a sustainable mining industry that result from that juridification is discussed. === Graduate === 0616 === 0366 === 0551 === [e-mail]