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Search: UNCLOS

13 May

...the same time it is forbidden under UNCLOS from hampering transit passage in any way and is by law required to give publicity to any danger to navigation. In its Wimbledon Case the PCIJ ruled that there was a general rule embodied in Art. 380 of the Treaty of Versailles granting full access to vessels of commerce and war to the Kiel Canal. As Germany is the only country that has control over this waterway it holds a dominant position. The same goes for the 1901 Hay-Pauncefote treaty on the...
13.05.22 | |

02 Jul

...folks at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg — including Chinese and Russian judges! —, who (again, in theory) might “use a legal dispute to score points against American ‘unilateralism’ and ‘arrogance’ for a global audience keen to humble the United States” and find American anti-terrorism operations on the high seas inconsistent with UNCLOS. Sounds pretty unlikely to me, in the same way that the ICC was never going to haul US servicemembers into the dock, at least not anytime soon. Remember, ITLOS is a...
02.07.07 | |

14 Jul

...the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the “constitution for the oceans” (T.T.B. Koh), was adopted more than 40 years ago. Is it more resilient in the face of today’s crises compared to other bodies of international law? Or does this body of law require further adaptability and contingent action? In an effort to address this question and in light of these dynamic developments, the UNYB issues a special call for papers providing contributors with a thematic forum to critically assess the law of the sea...
14.07.24 | |

03 Nov

I know next to nothing about UNCLOS, but I will still amused by one the reasons the Wall Street Journal invokes today against ratifying it — customary international law: The best arguments for the treaty come from the U.S. Navy, which likes how it creates a legal framework for navigational rights. The oil and gas industry approves of provisions that create an “exclusive economic zone” for the U.S. out to 200 miles. There’s also the potential for development (with clear legal title) of resources in the deep seabed, which would...
03.11.07 | |

16 Mar

...this is a separate matter. It does not, in my mind, justify reading a formality-condition into the text of 87(5)(b). The phrase “enters into” used in 87(5)(b) does not change my view on this. States can just as easily enter into informal arrangements or agreements as formal ones (see e.g. Articles 74(3) and 83(3) UNCLOS, by which States are to “enter into provisional arrangements of a practical nature”). Would the interpretation I suggest make 87(5)(b) “bizarre or possibly counterproductive”? Let’s deal with bizarre first. I would be hard pressed to...
16.03.16 | |

22 Dec

This week on Opinio Juris, Kristen Boon followed up on her discussion last week about changes towards more transparency and fairness in the UN’s Al Qaida sanctions regime. Craig Allen contributed a guest post on the ITLOS’ interim order for the release by Ghana of Argentina’s ARA Libertad. UNCLOS was also central to Duncan Hollis’ post on China’s submission to the Continental Shelf Commission in relation to the dispute regarding the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. Peggy McGuinness congratulated Diane Amann, Leila Sadat and Patricia Sellers on their appointments as special advisor to...
22.12.12 | |

15 Nov

...with national sovereignty. America must either remain a constitutional republic or submit to international law, because it cannot do both. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and the conflict between adhering to the rule of law and obeying globalist planners is now staring us in the face.” I don’t agree, but I do like the name “globalist planners,” and I plan to steal it when I start my international consulting firm. Have candidates taken positions on other major treaties, like CEDAW, Kyoto, UNCLOS, land mines? Change in...
15.11.07 | |

18 Jan

...on how to apply, please visit this website. ITLOS – Nippon Foundation Capacity Building and Training Program 2026-2027: The ITLOS-Nippon Foundation Capacity-Building and Training Programme on Dispute Settlement under UNCLOS, July 2026 – March 2027, to be held at ITLOS (Hamburg, Germany), is welcoming applications until 6 March 2026. For more information see the flyer and website. Calls for Papers Global Law Conference: University of Edinburgh Centre for International and Global Law and University of Edinburgh International Law Reading Group is jointly organising a Global Law Conference, taking place on 30 April and...
18.01.26 | |

11 Apr

...a document provided by a local politician. Oceania East Timor has called in the United Nations (UNCLOS) to help resolve its bitter dispute with Australia over a permanent sea border in the oil-rich Timor Sea. New Zealand’s government on Monday said it would begin a review of its foreign trust laws after leaked documents from a Panamanian law firm highlighted vulnerabilities in its legal framework that made it a possible link in international tax avoidance structures. UN/World Global warming is shifting the way the Earth wobbles on its polar axis,...
11.04.16 | |

21 Apr

...in Cyberspace. Julian Ku posted about the new evidence in the Center for Constitutional Rights’ International Criminal Court complaint against the Catholic Church, and was amazed by recent poll figures suggesting that Britons hold a negative view of the European Convention on Human Rights. He also discussed that the Philippines are unlikely to get China to ITLOS over the South China Sea dispute because China frames its claims as territorial sovereignty rather than as an issue of the boundaries of a state’s EEZ under UNCLOS. Kevin Heller discussed a BBC...
21.04.12 | |

27 Oct

...that Crawford originally said the UNGA “adopted” the ASR before correcting himself to indicate the UNGA had only taken note of them). At the same time, he emphasized that the ASR emerged in, and existed within, a system very much focused on the idea of unitary states. As for anyone else getting responsibility under international law, he argued that they do so by analogy to states and, even then, largely on a case-by-case basis (e.g., EC membership in UNCLOS or the WTO). Crawford explained that he didn’t see a real...
27.10.06 | |

28 Aug

I’ve been distracted the last few days by all this Syria stuff (and a nasty case of poison ivy), so I neglected to keep up with the latest on that Philippines-China UNCLOS arbitration now seated at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. Luckily, Luke Petersen of Investment Arbitration Reporter is on the case and has this great post analyzing the information released so far about the arbitration. Note that the Philippines has until March 2014 to file their memorial. This seems ridiculously long given that they’ve been preparing...
28.08.13 | |