Sustainable development is an ethical and moral ideal but does it have in essence practical legal effect?

This paper investigates the concept of sustainable development (SD), its emergence and definition. It then identifies some of the principles of SD, its incorporation in domestic policy and legislation and its application by decision-makers who seek to apply the principles to particular fact situations through trends in case laws. Reference, in this paper, is made to a recent Constitutional Court of South Africa case, which has taken into account not only the provisions of the domestic legislation but has also tied them with the right to environment provision of the Constitution which a decision-maker is required to realize, in order to give practical legal effect. What strides if any, have been taken and made by decision-makers to embrace the application of the principles of SD for Small Island Developing States, this paper attempts to address