Search: UNCLOS
04 Nov U.S. Treaty Practice Does Not Have to Be a Zero-Sum Game!
...to have garnered media attention in recent weeks. U.S. Secretary of State Kerry’s signature of the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty promoted a rather furious domestic back-lash about whether the United States should join that treaty (At present, it sure looks like there’s easily enough Senate votes to oppose it). And, that’s not to mention the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). It continues to be supported by a large majority of business and national security interests but remains stymied by Senate opposition from a very vocal...
22 Jul Revolution or Status Quo? The ICJ Dilemma in Defining States’ Climate Obligations
...due diligence, the principle of prevention, the no-harm rule, the precautionary principle, international human rights and UNCLOS. However, custom is not only shaped through widespread State practice, but also requires opinio juris (the belief that such practice is legally obligatory). As the ICJ notoriously ruled, “not only must the acts concerned amount to a settled practice, but they must also be such, or be carried out in such a way, as to be evidence of a belief that this practice is rendered obligatory by the existence of a rule of...20 Oct A call from the bottom
...I would like to make Peter’s appeal mine, and insist again on this problem. “Professor Romano points to a timely debate about the age-old problem of how to manage the ocean commons. There are indeed preliminary discussions underway about working up a new UNCLOS “Implementing Agreement” for biodiversity (and living resources) in areas beyond national jurisdictions. Also underway are serious negotiations to establish in the short-term new treaty-based regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) for the Southern Pacific and Southern Indian Oceans that are likely to have broad-based authority to conserve...11 Jul 2012 U.S. Digest on International Law Now Available
Today, the U.S. Department of State released the 2012 edition of its Digest of U.S. practice in international law (for a brief history of these Digests see the accompanying press release here). Under the editorship of CarrieLyn D. Guymon, the Digest addresses a number of key international legal developments from 2012, including the U.S. response to the crisis in Syria and the (failed) attempt to get Senate Advice and Consent to the Disabilities Convention and UNCLOS among other treaty action. In addition, there was plenty of activity on the litigation...
22 Jul Space Law at the Crossroads: Contextualizing the Artemis Accords and the Space Resources Executive Order
...perfunctory commitments such as “capacity-building”, “technical support” and “information sharing”, the UN Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS) and the MA being major exceptions. The concept of CHM that forms the basis of benefit-sharing in these two instruments, however, has fallen out of favour. This is evident from the reluctance of major space-faring nations to ratify the MA, and more recently, from the departure of negotiations for an implementing agreement concerning the conservation of Biodiversity in areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) from a fully CHM-based model to a narrower “benefit...09 Aug Ninth Circuit Rules in Sarei v. Rio Tinto
...of villages, rape and pillage.” The U.S. State Department filed a statement of interest opposing the litigation. By a 2-1 majority, the Ninth Circuit ruled, among other things, that (1) all of the plaintiffs’ claims, with the exception of the UNCLOS claim, assert jus cogens violations that are actionable under Sosa; (2) the UNCLOS claim, while not jus cogens, can provide the basis of an actionable ATCA claim given the widespread ratification of that treaty; (3) corporations can be vicariously liable for violations of jus cogens norms; (4) the State...28 Jun China’s International Law Argument on the Scarborough Shoal/Huangyan Island
Interesting letter to the editor at the WSJ, defending China’s claim to the disputed island/shoal/reef in the South China Seas. It is a good preview of China’s international law argument as well as its view that UNCLOS is largely irrelevant to the dispute. To assert that China “invented” history is a result of ignorance of history. China acquired sovereignty over Huangyan Island through discovery of and presence on the island before anyone else. Hundreds of years of jurisdiction has consolidated China’s sovereignty over the island. Historic and legal evidences are...21 Sep Law of the Sea Arbitral Tribunal Rules in Favor of Guyana Over Suriname
...Annex VII of the UNCLOS. ITLOS can appoint members in case of a deadlock, but I don’t know if that happened here. In fact, ITLOS is a largely dormant institution (15 cases so far, in its entire 13 year history). The U.S., for instance, has opted out of the ITLOS for almost all disputes (assuming it eventually ratifies UNCLOS) in favor of the Annex VII arbitral process. This proceeding wasn’t even held at ITLOS’s chambers in Hamburg. Instead, it was administered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration situated (where else?)...