Shared Responsibility or Institutional Accountability? Continuing Conceptual and Enforcement Issues for Grievance Mechanisms of Public and Private International Finance Institutions

Abstract

This contribution builds on one aspect of David Freestone’s academic writing that spanned his World Bank career, namely, the relationships between international and transnational actors on environmental issues. Due to the increasing role of environmental and social considerations within multilateral development finance, which David was instrumental in bringing about, there is a need to ensure that the relevant international/ transnational actors concerned are held accountable for their efforts to inculcate such considerations within institutional decisionmaking processes. This contribution therefore assesses the different legal and institutional means by which such accountability is brought about. In doing so, this contribution examines the role of a variety of actors within international development finance law, and in particular, the public and private international finance institutions (ifi s) involved with major infrastructure development projects that have socioeconomic and environmental impacts. In this regard, this contribution is also in keeping with David’s indefatigable efforts to advance the frontiers of knowledge in the international environmental law field. These efforts in turn stem from his abiding interest in securing justice for those that are deprived of access to environmental services due to the machinations of international/ transnational actors. The provision of environmental justice in this regard is especially pertinent as the role of private ifi s grows in the field of international development projects. By focussing on the institutional accountability of public and private ifi s in this context, this contribution both charts and engages with these new frontiers of international environmental law. Multiple international actors are now commonly involved in major natural resource and/ or infrastructure development projects, usually comprising a mix of State and international/ transnational nonState actors. These projects are