International Lobbying

• Department of Law

The International Law Working Group hosts a presentation by Letizia Lo Giacco (Leiden University).

This contribution takes a retrospective outlook at the way in which non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have gained authority in negotiating public interests as a result of lobbying activities. In doing so, it considers practices of lobbying culminating in the recognition of NGOs as 'public interests defenders' or guardians of the public space.

Starting off from the idea that international lobbying sits at the intersection of the law and politics of governing public interests, this paper employs the concept of liquid/solid authority to describe the process whereby political attempts to influence decision-making result in the formal recognition of the authority of NGOs in international legal arrangements relating to climate change and environmental protection. Yet, while the participation of (private) stakeholders may, on the one hand, strengthen the legitimacy of legal outcomes, on the other, their attempts to influence the exercise of public authority may be viewed with scepticism from a public law standpoint. In particular, this paper engages a social idealist lens à la Allott to shed light on the pitfalls of private entities gaining authority to represent, advocate and litigate public interests both in liquid and solid terms.

This contribution ultimately aims to contribute to the burgeoning literature on how private actors may legitimately engage with public interests by exerting forms of authority in a reconfigured institutional environment.