@article{2026:khan:participat,
title = {Participation as an Obligation? Rethinking Investment Practices Through the Right to Development},
year = {2026},
note = {This article explores how the Right to Development can serve as a
normative and procedural framework for reorienting International
Investment Law (IIL) toward greater human rights compliance. Focusing
on the foundational principle of the Right to Development, i. e.
public participation, it proposes a Right to Development-based impact
assessment model aimed at reshaping investment practices to better
reflect the interests and agency of affected communities. Drawing on
legal instruments from international environmental law, particularly
the Aarhus Convention and the Escazú Agreement, the article
highlights how existing procedural guarantees can inform and
strengthen participatory obligations in the investment context. The
proposed framework elevates non-binding concepts such as the Social
License to Operate into enforceable obligations grounded in
international law. The framework is particularly relevant in
high-risk, resource-intensive sectors, where the lack of community
participation has exacerbated rights violations.},
journal = {Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht / Heidelberg Journal of International Law},
pages = {869--896},
author = {Khan, Muhammad Asif},
volume = {86},
number = {3}
}