Unclos And Ocean Dispute Settlement

This book project evaluates the applicability and effectiveness of UNCLOS as a settlement mechanism for addressing ocean disputes. Focus is placed on the South China Sea (SCS) dispute, one of the most complex and challenging ocean-related conflicts in the world. The book considers the internal coherence of the Law of the Sea Convention regime and its dispute settlement procedures. It looks at the participation in the UNCLOS negotiation, maritime legislation, and dispute settlement practice of relevant States party to the dispute. The book goes on to explore the relationship between UNCLOS and other regimes and institutions in general in the SCS, particularly in regard to maritime security, marine environment protection, oil and gas joint development and political interaction.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) offers a legal framework for the sustainable development of the oceans and their natural resources. However, recently there have been calls to amend the Convention due to some ambiguous provisions which are unable to address a variety of contemporary maritime issues. This book evaluates the applicability and effectiveness of UNCLOS as a settlement mechanism for addressing ocean disputes. The book’s central focus is on the South China Sea (SCS) dispute, one of the most complex and challenging ocean-related conflicts in the world. The book examines the ways in which an emphasis on sovereignty, threats to maritime security and overlapping maritime claims caused by the newly established maritime regimes authorized by UNCLOS are all contributing factors to the SCS dispute. The book considers the internal coherence of the Law of the Sea Convention regime and its dispute settlement procedures. It looks at participation in the UNCLOS negotiations, maritime legislation, and the dispute settlement practice of relevant States party to the SCS dispute. The author goes on to explore the relationship between UNCLOS and the regimes and institutions in the SCS, particularly in regard to issues of maritime security, marine environment protection, joint development of oil and gas and general political interaction. The author proposes practical mechanisms to resolve the dispute whilst also offering a final judgement on the effectiveness of UNCLOS for settling disputes. UNCLOS and Ocean Dispute Settlement will be of particular interest to academics, students and policy makers of international, shipping and maritime law as well as being of interest to academics and students in the field of international relations.

Written by an incumbent Judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, this book provides a unique insight into the development and functioning of ITLOS.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is one of the most important constitutive instruments in international law. Not only does this treaty regulate the uses of the world's largest resource, but it also contains a mandatory dispute settlement system - an unusual phenomenon in international law. While some scholars have lauded this development as a significant achievement, others have been highly sceptical of its comprehensiveness and effectiveness. This book explores whether a compulsory dispute settlement mechanism is necessary for the regulation of the oceans under the Convention. The requisite role of dispute settlement in the Convention is determined through an assessment of its relationship to the substantive provisions. Klein firstly describes the dispute settlement procedure in the Convention. She then takes each of the issue areas subject to limitations or exceptions to compulsory procedures entailing binding decisions, and analyses the interrelationship between the substantive and procedural rules.

The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea has been frequently referred to as the ‘constitution for the oceans’ and as one of the most important events in the history of modern international law. Representing one of the treaties most widely accepted by the international community, the adoption of the Convention had a long and difficult passage, explained in part by the varied and often irreconcilable interests at stake during the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. In this context, one of the primary merits of the Convention is its successful accommodation of the interests involved, an accomplishment which has contributed to the view that the Convention constitutes one of the major compromises in the history of international treaty law-making. A detailed dispute settlement system represents a significant achievement of the Convention, an aspect on which Dispute Resolution in the Law of the Sea focuses. The book aims at examining the resolution of disputes which have emerged since the Convention’s entry into force and at analyzing the role of compulsory procedures entailing binding decisions through the prism of general international law and jurisprudence. An overall evaluation of the effectiveness of the functioning of the dispute settlement system under the Convention is presented and annexes offer a compendium of the LOSC-related disputes together with various means involved in their resolution as well as maritime delimitation agreements and the provisional arrangements negotiated by States.

This book addresses current developments concerning the interpretation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the part of international courts and tribunals. It does so from different perspectives, by focusing on the jurisprudence of international and regional bodies, such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), as well as international arbitral tribunals and the World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body. The various contributions offer in-depth analyses of issues ranging from the interaction between the sources of the International Law of the Sea, to various substantial, procedural and institutional aspects of the regulatory framework established by UNCLOS. The book also focuses on the reference by international courts and tribunals, in Law of the Sea cases, to both general principles and rules concerning interpretation codified in the Vienna Conventions on the Law of Treaties.

This book analyses a selection of challenges in the implementation and application of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), focusing on several areas: international organizations, fisheries, security, preserving marine biodiversity, dispute settlement, and interaction with other areas of international law. UNCLOS has been described as the Constitution for the Oceans. It sets out the fundamental rights, obligations and jurisdictions of States regarding the access to, uses and management of the oceans and seas and their resources. It balances States’ diverse and sometimes conflicting interests, such as conflicting uses of space, against navigational interests and the protection of the marine environment. UNCLOS is the first global treaty to include comprehensive obligations on the protection and preservation of the marine environment, including the conservation of living marine resources. These are often common or cross-border challenges, which can only be addressed through international cooperation. The book is divided into three thematic parts. The first concerns the role of international organizations in ocean governance. It includes twelve chapters covering a very diverse set of issues, both materially and geographically, that demonstrate the importance of coordinated actions on the part of multiple States for obtaining harmonized solutions regarding the pursuit of activities in maritime spaces (in connection with e.g. navigation, fisheries or maritime security). The second part concerns the relevance of dispute settlement mechanisms for understanding the international law of the sea and the international legal framework within which the actions of the great maritime powers take place. It is composed of three chapters, examining stakeholders’ role in dispute settlement, the position taken by China and the Russian Federation regarding international litigation in maritime spaces, and how the South China Sea Award may be relevant to the debate on the international legal concepts of rock and island. In turn, the third part addresses current discussions on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. Its seven chapters report on the status quo of the ongoing negotiations for a new international legal regime of the high seas, and the establishment and operationalization of environmental regimes for international maritime spaces.

This book analyses he implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in the light of state practices of China and Japan. The special character of the book can be found in its structure of comparative analysis of the practices of China and Japan in each part. The focus is on historical aspects (Part I), implementation of the UNCLOS (Part II), navigation (Part III), mid-ocean archipelagos (Part IV), the marine environment (Part V), and dispute settlement (Part VI). By taking this approach, the book elucidates a variety of aspects of history, difficulties, problems, and controversies arising from the implementation of the UNCLOS by the two nations. Furthermore, contributors from China and Japan tend to show different perspectives on the UNCLOS, which, by clarifying the need for further debate, are expected to contribute to the continuing cooperation between the academics of the two states.

Legal Order in the World’s Oceans: UN Convention on the Law of the Sea assesses the impact of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and many aspects and challenges of modern law of the sea. The theme was selected in part to celebrate that this conference was the Center for Oceans Law and Policy’s 40th Annual Conference and in part to emphasize the seminal contribution to the Rule of Law from UNCLOS in building legal order in the world’s oceans. The comprehensive scope of this inquiry is presented in six parts. The topics are: Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea at the United Nations; the Area and the International Seabed Authority; the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and Dispute Settlement; the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf; Sustainable Fisheries, including the UN Fish Stocks Agreement; and Operational Implementation—Maritime Compliance and Enforcement.