Search: UNCLOS
06 Oct Towards a Constitutionalization of International Climate Law?
...of international climate law, reflexivity appears in two interlinked ways. First, through the cross-fertilization among international courts. International climate opinions listen, cite, incorporate and reinforce each other. For example, in interpreting the UNCLOS, the ICJ ascribed great weight to ITLOS’ finding that greenhouse gas emissions constitute “pollution of the marine environment” (ICJ Opinion, paras. 336–354). With respect to the adverse effects of climate change on the enjoyment of human rights, the ICJ took extensive account of the views and reports of United Nations human rights bodies and expert organizations (paras...16 Mar An Obama-Trudeau Agreement Conceding Canada’s Claim to the Waters of the Northwest Passage?
...Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). As a party to UNCLOS, Canada is strictly limited by Article 311 of the Convention in the extent to which it can attempt to alter the effect of UNCLOS by bilateral treaties. Any attempt to do so would have no effect on the navigation rights of Russia, the EU member-states, or any other state. Moreover, any such bilateral agreement would likely be viewed by the other coastal state members of the Arctic Council as inconsistent with the spirit of the 2008 Ilulissat...
16 Oct The Final Frontier of Cyberspace: Ensuring that Submarine Data Cables are Able to Live Long and Prosper (Part I)
...attack under Article 51 of the UN Charter. Part two will explore how the laws of armed conflict (LOAC) and the laws of naval warfare (LoNW) will (or more possibly should) treat submarine data cables for the purposes of targeting in military operations. Wilful or Negligent Damage by Vessels While Article 2 of the 1884 Paris Convention for the Protection of Submarine Telegraph Cables (Paris Convention), and Article 113 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) create an obligation for a state to criminalise wilful or...
04 Sep Rich or Poor, does it Matter? How the Wealthy are Defined in Public International Law
...climate change, things are clearer. States parties have negotiated two annexes attached to the UNFCCC. Nations that are not included in these annexes are recognized as developing countries. Some other international treaties have employed the “developed/developing” division without offering definitions. UNCLOS and ICESCR serve as examples in this regard. Nevertheless, the United Nations (UN) has furnished references for related terms found in UNCLOS, such as “developing landlocked States” (Article 69.3) and “least developed States” (Article 161.1.d). This reminds us to look at the approaches adopted by international organizations to define...
20 Aug Rescue at Sea in Armed Conflict – A Legal Analysis of the Obligations Applicable Following the Use of Armed USVs
...therefore unlikely that there will be one legal definition that fits all USVs. How USVs are classified under the law of the sea impacts on where, when and how they are used in armed conflicts. Only warships have belligerent rights in naval warfare, according to which only warships can use armed force. Warships are defined in Article 29 UNCLOS as: a ship belonging to the armed forces of a State bearing the external marks distinguishing such ships of its nationality, under the command of an officer duly commissioned by the...01 Jan Exploring International Law with Opinio Juris in 2013: Highways, Back Roads, and Uncharted Territories…
...of posts focused on the role that international law may or may not have in resolving China’s various maritime disputes (e.g., 1, 2). Others were concerned with the debacle over Russia’s detention of the crew of the Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise (see, e.g., 1, 2, 3), whether US actions regarding UNCLOS are a precedent for Russia and China balking at UNCLOS dispute settlement, and various other UNCLOS related topics (such as this). And there is the issue of China’s aircraft identification zone (1, 2). The end of the year brought new...
24 Apr The Relevance of Habitability (and its Loss) for the Status of ‘Islands’
...a different view, emphasising the potential legal stability of the status of an ‘island’ notwithstanding sea-level rise effects. Antigua and Barbuda have stated that ‘sea-level rise cannot lead to the requalification of islands as rocks’, implying that the status of an ‘island’ would be undisturbed by the effects of sea-level rise. This position also underpins the view held by members of the Pacific Islands Forum and the Alliance of Small Island States that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) supports ‘maintaining maritime zones established in...
27 Sep Egoism on the High Seas
...A history of egoism This negotiation has been shaped by an older debate. The Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea took place against the backdrop of a broader attempt to construct a New International Economic Order. Significant parts of the treaty that was the outcome of that conference – the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) – reflected this, in particular Part XI, the seabed regime. Resources mined in seabed areas beyond national jurisdiction were the ‘Common Heritage of Mankind’, and profits...
27 Aug India at the UNSC: Will the Country be Able to Leave its Footprints?
...the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) being accepted by the UNSC as the legal framework applicable to ocean endeavours, including countering illicit activities at sea. It was emphasised that international disputes should be determined peacefully and in accordance with international law, as was done by India in its maritime boundary dispute with Bangladesh. This reaffirmed the primacy of international law, which was adopted and endorsed by member states of the UNSC. The primacy of international law augments in what India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishanakar said earlier, this month, that...25 Sep ITLOS Turns 10 – A Cause for Celebration?
...the rules governing the international trading system. Greater agreement over the scope and application of a normative regime would suggest fewer disputes, and fewer underlying disputes could explain the paucity of dispute settlement cases before ITLOS. Or, perhaps the reason is structural. UNCLOS Art. 287 gives state parties three choices for resolving their ocean law disputes – (1) ITLOS; (2) the ICJ; or (3) various types of arbitral tribunals constituted in accordance with UNCLOS Annexes VII or VIII. Thus, unlike the WTO’s compulsory panel/appellate body system, ITLOS faces real competition...