In Indonesia, swidden practices have been part of traditional rice farming for centuries. Swidden agriculture is a fundamental part of all remaining large tropical forests and provides a critical form of biodiversity-friendly agriculture. Meanwhile, peatland degradation and land conversion for oil palm plantation and agriculture have created an annual transboundary environmental disaster in Southeast Asia. This article adopts a transnational lens to highlight the complex multi-scale interactions that perpetuate recurring transboundary air pollution in the region. Having examined the traditional practices of swidden agriculture in Central Kalimantan and South Sumatra (Indonesia), the article reveals that swidden agriculture has been misunderstood generally, and in particular in international and national law and policy. It argues that existing laws fail to identify the important role that swidden agriculture plays in sustainable ecosystem management and cultural expression. Nuanced understandings of fire use, alongside transnational multi-stakeholder and multi-scale approaches, are required.

The adoption of weak remedies, such as declarations or recommendations by the Bangladesh Supreme Court in litigations on state-induced forced slum evictions, significantly contributes to the tardy implementation of court orders. In this context, there is a growing global consensus on the structural injunction—a remedy that enables judges to monitor and bring about governmental compliance with judicial orders of social rights litigation. The Bangladesh Supreme Court faces several real and compelling challenges relating to its constitutional authority and institutional capacity that hinder remedial innovation. Through examining relevant constitutional provisions, judicial approach, and comparative examples, this article argues that the court has the capacity to overcome these constraints. Thus, it advocates judicial reform in Bangladesh to offset the state’s often arbitrary interference with the basic necessity of housing of the slum dwellers.

It is widely accepted that the provision of access to safe drinking water and sanitation services for the world's poor is one of the great developmental challenges of the modern era. There is a need to establish mechanisms that enable the human right to water to be satisfied in developing states. This article will discuss how the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) can be used to facilitate the promotion of quality and affordable water services to developing states. Indeed, it is argued that the WTO and the GATS are the most appropriate mechanisms to successfully satisfy the human right to water in developing countries. The challenges of adopting a multilateral model will be explored, and the importance of adopting capacity-building issues and pricing challenges within an amended GATS framework will be addressed. The nexus between the GATS and the trend towards privatisation will also be considered. The aim of this article is to contribute towards a greater understanding of the role that international trade law in general, and the GATS in particular, can play as part of a holistic response to the immense problems (present and future) relating to water resources in LDCs.

Article 2(2) of the Kyoto Protocol imposes an obligation only on certain developed countries, working through the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), to pursue the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from marine bunker fuels. The IMO recently took the initiative to adopt a new legal instrument for the reduction of ship-generated greenhouse gas emissions. Some developing countries have suggested that the proposed IMO initiative should strictly adhere to Article 2(2) of the Kyoto Protocol and the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibility (CBDR). Against this backdrop, this article intends to review the extent to which it is possible to propose an international legal instrument for the reduction of GHG emissions from marine bunker fuels which is applicable only to ships from developed countries considering the complex characteristics of the international shipping industry. This article also examines how far this approach is justifiable even within the framework of the CBDR principle.

Despite being contradictory to the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) core objective of freer trade, its rules permits execution of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) provided certain conditions are complied with. WTO mechanism to oversee compliance of these conditions on PTAs is continuously evolving from somewhat tentative approach of earlier General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Panels to more willingness of active judicial interpretation by WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB). This article critically analyses the WTO provisions on PTAs taking into account the reports of GATT panels and WTO. It also sheds light on WTO member states views on controversial and hazy issues of the GATT/WTO jurisprudence on PTAs. The article in its concluding part suggests several recommendations designed to ensure greater compliance of the PTAs with rules of the WTO.