Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
PhD student in Public International Law, Faculty of Law, Theology and Political Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
2
Professor, Department of Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran (Corresponding Author)
3
Professor, Department of Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
4
Assistant Professor, Department of Public International Law, Faculty of Law, Theology and Political Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Achieving development in the 21st century requires cooperation and collaboration between governments and members of the international community. There is no doubt about the existence of a moral obligation to cooperate for development, but the existence of a legal obligation to "cooperate for development" is still a matter of doubt and ambiguity. In this article, we seek to find an answer to the question of whether "cooperate for development" is simply a moral obligation or a political goal dependent on the goodwill of governments, or whether it is a legal obligation and duty with specific foundations. To find an answer to the question posed, we will first take steps to provide a legal definition of the term "cooperation" and the synthesis of the content of "cooperate for development", and then we will try to search for the basis of the aforementioned concepts among the sources of international law. Hermeneutic interpretation of the text of the United Nations Charter and scrutiny of documents such as human rights covenants, as well as a cursory look at the practice of states, show that the basis for the duty of developed states to cooperate with developing states to achieve development can be found in treaty, customary sources, and even general principles of international law.
Keywords