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Search: UNCLOS

02 Mar

...would constitute such relevant materials) and, more importantly still perhaps: it would lead to all sorts of difficult negotiations on what exactly the record should reflect. Imagine the sort of record created if the UNCLOS travaux would have been thought to be decisive for future interpretations; the process would in all likelihood have taken twice as long. Still, any lawyer worth her salt will consult whatever record is available. The main function served by the Vienna Convention’s rules, then, is as something of a battlefield: the continuation of politics by...
02.03.09 | |

02 Mar

...Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to draft new rules that take into account pre-existing sovereign claims prior to the loss of territory, to the idea of a non-territorial or ex situ state: It would be made up of citizens scattered around the globe and headed by a government that would manage common resources, such as maritime resources and compensation funds; provide consular protection; maintain cultural ties and identity; and even keep alive the possibility of reunification in a new location. However, as a law professor who writes about problems if...
02.03.12 | |

18 Apr

...temporary tariff on Chinese exports to collect exactly that much revenue while the sovereignty claims are being adjudicated, and then distribute them once the matter is settled before the International Court of Justice. Whaaaahhht? In this one sentence, the authors propose that an arbitral tribunal convened under UNCLOS issue an award granting money damages to the Philippines. This is somewhat unlikely, but it is theoretically possible. But who exactly is going to place a “temporary tariff on Chinese exports”? The United States? A country that is not party to the...
18.04.16 | |

11 Jun

...an egregious example of the flouting of international law treaty obligations as well as customary law. As an example, Article 98 of UNCLOS provides the obligation to rescue persons in distress and to provide search and rescue facilities. The latest case is that of German boat captain Pia Klemp, who is being prosecuted by the Italian authorities for rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean. Klemp’s boat, Sea-Watch 3 has been the subject of interim measures of protection by the European Court of Human Rights, in relation to the fate of 47 migrants...
11.06.19 | |

27 Apr

...of a garment factory in Bangladesh, which Roger hoped would provide an incentive to sign up to agreements, such as the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement, that include a binding arbitration clause to ensure better protection of human rights. In news from international courts, Julian updated us on the appointment of the final arbitrators for the UNCLOS arbitration lodged by the Philippines against China, and assessed China’s “talking points” on the case. He also urged the Supreme Court to follow the ICJ’s lead and release video recordings of oral...
27.04.13 | |

08 Sep

At the start of the US academic year, Peggy welcomed Stephen Walt’s recommendation, though not his reasons, that wannabe foreign policy wonks study international law, and Roger Alford posted about James Phillips and John Yoo’s analysis of international and comparative law all-stars at the top 16 US law schools. The Republican and Democratic conventions also caught our bloggers’ attention. Julian Ku posted about the strong language in the draft republican platform on protecting American sovereignty and opposing agreements such as UNCLOS, and Peter Spiro doubted whether the idea of citizenship,...
08.09.12 | |

21 Nov

...to strengthen domestic criminal laws, and of course, to the overarching legal framework created by UNCLOS and SUA. This preambular paragraph from Resolution 2020 illustrates the Security Council’s legalistic approach: “Recognizing the need to investigate and prosecute not only suspects captured at sea, but also anyone who incites or intentionally facilitates piracy operations, including key figures of criminal networks involved in piracy who illicitly plan, organize, facilitate, or finance and profit from such attacks and reiterating its concern over a large number of persons suspected of piracy having to be...
21.11.12 | |

23 Nov

This fortnight on Opinio Juris, Julian shared his impressions of the Asian Society of International Law Biennial Meeting in New Delhi, and summarized his unofficial notes on Judge Xue Hanqin’s personal comments regarding China’s non-participation in the UNCLOS arbitration started by the Philippines. Peter, meanwhile, was at the 2013 Emma Lazarus Lecture and found much to agree with in Jagdish Baghwati’s proposals for state, as opposed to federal, powers in immigration reform. Peter later alerted us to Somalia’s ratification of the Children’s Rights Convention. This of course leaves the US...
23.11.13 | |

25 May

...the need for action is greater than it has ever been in order to protect and expand America’s sovereignty and national and economic security. And from that ad (quoting John Negroponte): With ratification, America would secure international recognition of the greatest expansion of resource sovereignty in its history, gaining exclusive access to resources in a region larger than the area of the Louisiana Purchase and Alaska combined. So UNCLOS is pro-sovereignty because it literally (littorally) and legally recognizes US jurisidiction over huge swathes of the ocean. You have to admire...
25.05.12 | |

05 May

...that international humanitarian law applies, smugglers’ boats would be entitled to protection as civilian objects. The smugglers’ activities should not qualify as ‘piracy’ under the UNCLOS Article 101. That would in any case only make them liable to seizure by force by any State on the high seas (Article 105). To argue that the provision allows to destroy their ships when docked in a harbour seems too much of a stretch. 3. Conclusion: Another Problem that Cannot be Solved by Force While there are legal avenues open for using force...
05.05.15 | |

28 Apr

...China to react, albeit through the soft pressure of an Annex VII UNCLOS arbitral proceeding. It is impressive how China can keep three of its neighbors scrambling to respond while it slowly builds up its territorial claims. In the long run, China v. India/Japan/Philippines/Vietnam/etc. seems like bad odds, but so far it is working. Will international arbitration play any role in resolving these disputes? I doubt it, but we will soon get some empirical evidence if the Philippines is able to win a judgment that affects or shifts China’s behavior....
28.04.13 | |

13 Dec

...see Clinton emphasizing the need for the United States to fix the Human Rights Council and join CTBT and CEDAW, or Edwards wanting the U.S. to renegotiate NAFTA and join the ICC, while Kucinich talks about signing Kyoto and Obama indicates his intention to reinvigorate the Geneva Conventions and have the U.S. join UNCLOS. I really hope that these four won’t be the only candidates to contribute to ASIL’s project (for example, I can’t imagine the site without Senator Biden’s survey response). And, of course, given that ASIL identifies itself...
13.12.07 | |