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39 Geo. J. Int'l L. 693 (2007-2008)
International Best Practice in Mining Who Decides and How - And How Does It Impact Law Development

handle is hein.journals/geojintl39 and id is 701 raw text is: INTERNATIONAL BEST PRACTICE IN MINING WHO DECIDES AND HOW-AND HOW DOES IT IMPACT LAW DEVELOPMENT? JOHN P. WILLLAMS* I. INTRODUCTION One way in which international law influences international business decisions and behavior in developing countries is through the develop- ment of what is called international best practice and the promotion of the adoption and implementation of that practice in national regula- tory frameworks. How that process works is the focus of this paper. The concept of international best practice represents a kind of prevailing global or regional consensus (or compromise) among repre- sentatives of government, industry and international development finance institutions as to what constitute appropriate ground rules and protections for the achievement of the private objectives of industry and the public goals of government. This concept rests, of course, upon the optimistic assumption that the primary private goals of industry and the primary public goals of governments are or can be compatible. Ideally, international best practice can be thought of as creating a condition of equilibrium and convergence between public and private goals in a particular industry which, when attained in a jurisdiction, enables the maximization of both private and public benefits from the relevant industrial activity. Practically, international best practice is a set of policies, norms, procedures and protections that industry and lawmakers in developing countries, especially, can look to as a template that has produced relatively predictable results in other countries. Assum- ing those results are politically desirable, the extent to which they can be achieved by adopting and implementing international best practice in a new jurisdiction will depend on a number of factors, including the intrinsic attractiveness of the new jurisdiction to private industry, corpo- rate and political will, appropriate adaptation of international best prac- tice to the national environment, and the absence of significant changes in the international markets involved. * John P. Williams is the Managing Partner of Duncan & Allen, Washington, D.C., and specializes in energy and natural resources law. Since 1989, he has advised The World Bank and assisted countries in Africa, Asia and South America in the reform of mining laws and related environmental and social regulations. Mr. Williams is the author or co-author of several articles and books on issues in international mining law. © 2008,John P. Williams.

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