Editorial Klaus Töpfer, Executive Director, UNEP Strengthening the rule of law Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General Strengthening the rule of law The Honourable Justice Arthur Chaskalson, Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa, describes how the judiciary is increasingly working with civil society and the international community to secure and enforce environmental rights and freedoms Justice can be shortsighted Justice Christopher Weeramantry, former Vice President of the International Court of Justice, outlines shortcomings in modern legal systems in the light of sustainable development and calls on judges to bring longer perspectives to the bench Force of law Justice Guy Canivet, Premier Président de la Cour de Cassation, France, suggests practical steps that need to be taken to make environmental and sustainable development law effective A matter of judgement The Honourable Mamdouh Marie, Chief Justice, Supreme Constitutional Court, Egypt, emphasizes the importance of an informed judiciary on environmental law and makes a practical suggestion for increasing the awareness of judges in his region A law of energy Pieter van Geel, State Secretary for Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment in the Netherlands, says that poor people must have access to clean and sustainable energy if the Millennium Development Goals are to be met People Rule of man, or rule of law? Professor Tommy Koh, Ambassador-At-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore and Chairman of the Institute of Policy Studies, describes the importance of the rule of law in protecting the environment and promoting free trade At a glance: The rule of law Sebastião Salgado The Brazilian photographer discusses his latest project

Sustainable development comes from Saturn! Dinah Shelton, Research Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School, Washington DC, explains that the rule of law provides the gravitational pull that holds together economic and social development and environmental protection, like the rings of the planet One planet, different worlds Bakary Kante, Director, Division of Policy Development and Law, UNEP, describes UNEP’s work in advancing the Millennium Development Goals through the rule of law Nature’s wisdom Kickback fightback Peter Eigen, Chairman of Transparency International, describes how corruption deepens poverty and damages the environment, and shows how the fight against it is intensifying Conflict and cooperation Professor Patricia Birnie, co-author of International Law and the Environment, assesses how far international law has helped to resolve disputes over shared watercourses Holistic landmark Hamdallah Zedan, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, assesses the role of the Convention on Biological Diversity in the rule of law on environmental sustainability Empowering the poor Hama Arba Diallo, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, describes the work of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in addressing a threat to some of the world’s poorest people, through an international legal instrument Legal climate Joke Waller-Hunter, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, describes the contribution that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is making to international sustainable development law Small is effective Shoko Takahashi (13) and Ryota Sakamoto (14), Board members of the Children’s World Summit for the Environment Extra web-only article: Building the framework Farhana Yamin, Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and former legal adviser to Samoa and the Alliance of Small Island States, argues that the Kyoto Protocol may be as important in furthering multilateralism and the rule of law as it is in achieving its objective of reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases