Trade sustainability impact assessment - transformation and modelling: roles of the European Union and Switzerland

Authors

  • Leila Neimane University of Latvia, Faculty of Law, 19 Raina Blvd., Riga, LV-1586, Latvia - Erasmus Mundus fellow, University of Pretoria, Faculty of Law, cnr Lynnwood Road and Roper Street, Hatfield, Pretoria, 0028, South Africa
  • Ilva Rudusa Latvia University of Agriculture, Faculty of Information Technologies, Liela street 2, Jelgava, LV-3001

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs20171.239.255

Abstract

This paper as a theoretical perspective based on a literature study addresses trade sustainability impact assessments. They are defined and designed to enhance free trade agreements and conducted either by regional organizations or individual states.

            The paper includes sections on the historical background of the different generations of the impact assessments (sustainability impact assessment, human rights impact assessment) used in the context of international trade, its impact on human rights and relation to environmental refugees, as well as, the influence of the European Union and Switzerland as the international players in shaping these assessments. The conclusion reached in this paper is that although diverse assessment tools are available, there is a need to encourage their greater adoption and use, based upon a holistic approach. The paper highlights the need for the use of theoretical models of trade sustainability impact assessment

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Author Biographies

Leila Neimane, University of Latvia, Faculty of Law, 19 Raina Blvd., Riga, LV-1586, Latvia - Erasmus Mundus fellow, University of Pretoria, Faculty of Law, cnr Lynnwood Road and Roper Street, Hatfield, Pretoria, 0028, South Africa

PhD student at the Faculty of Law of the University of Latvia. Between 2014 and 2015, she was a visiting fellow at the University of Basel, Switzerland, and between 2015 and 2017 an Erasmus Mundus fellow at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. She conducts her research on the comparison of the legal framework of environmental impact assessment in different jurisdictions. She has also been involved with the World Resources Institute as the National Researcher for Latvia in the framework of the Environmental Democracy (Performance) Index project. Her principal academic interests are environmental rights, environmental democracy, environmental justice, environmental impact assessment and regional development.

Ilva Rudusa, Latvia University of Agriculture, Faculty of Information Technologies, Liela street 2, Jelgava, LV-3001

Lecturer at the Faculty of Information Technologies of Latvia University of Agriculture. She is lecturing in the Management System Department since 2003 and performs the functions of a main economist in the Financial Planning Center since 2006. She holds Master Degree in Economics and is pursuing doctoral studies in the same field. Her main academic interests concern assessment of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial network model and infrastructure development at regional level, smart specialisation and related environmental issues.

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Published

2017-07-10

How to Cite

Neimane, L., & Rudusa, I. (2017). Trade sustainability impact assessment - transformation and modelling: roles of the European Union and Switzerland. Journal of Education Culture and Society, 8(1), 239–255. https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs20171.239.255

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 1 (2017): Journal of Education Culture and Society

Section

LOCAL CULTURES AND SOCIETIES

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