THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CODE OF MARKETING OF BREASTMILK SUBSTITUTES: THE SOCIO‐LEGAL CONTEXT

The International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, written by the World Health Organization and joined in by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), was passed by the World Health Assembly in mid‐1981. Intended as a model statute for member nations to adopt, it is now at the centre of a controversy that is both complex and dynamic. This controversy is simultaneously one of humanitarianism, community health, business, and — most of all — law. No doubt most readers are familiar with the heated campaigns of the past few years against infant formula distribution in the Third World. Today the weight of public opinion in most developed countries is with the Code, but that does not necessarily imply ultimate adoption and implementation in other countries. This article attempts, while taking no position on the Code's merits, to examine its possible future. Specifically, (1) Will the Code be adopted and implemented? (2) What is the context in which such decisions will be made?