Global Law and Sustainable Development: Change and the “Developing–Developed Country” Terminology

Change has played and continues to play a crucial role in life as in law. In the context of the search for a future system of global governance, law expresses change also through the concept of development or a debate known as “law and development”. This debate is characterized by the notion of a “developing country” and its frequent opposition with what is commonly called a “developed country”. Their opposition, as the terminology in general, appears not only inadequate to tackle the global governance challenges of the 21st century but also flawed both in philosophical and conceptual terms. This article, therefore, enquires into the causes for the terminology to be inadequate and advocates instead the use of the more dynamic and inclusive term of “development policy”, which seems more adequate for the objective of establishing a consistent body of global law supportive of the principles of sustainable development.