This work looks at topics, which can contribute to an understanding of how the Convention has been adapted to newly arising issues and how further adaptation may be achieved in the future, without a readjustment of the basic legal framework contained in the Convention.
This book contains the final version of the 2018 Report of the International Law Association (ILA) Committee on International Law and Sea Level Rise, as well as the related ILA Resolutions 5/2018 and 6/2018, both as adopted by the ILA at its 78th Biennial Conference, held in Sydney, Australia, 19–24 August 2018. In Part I of the Report, key information about the establishment of the Committee, its mandate and its work so far is presented. Part II of the Report addresses key law of the sea issues through a study of possible impacts of sea level rise and their implications under international law regarding maritime limits lawfully determined by the coastal States, and the agreed or adjudicated maritime boundaries. Part III of the Report addresses international law provisions, principles and frameworks for the protection of persons displaced in the context of sea level rise.
This book provides new insights into how change occurs in international law, through a uniquely comprehensive analysis of the mechanisms that allow the 'old' treaty-framework of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to respond to changing circumstances.
Baselines under the International Law of the Sea brings together two reports produced by the International Law Association (ILA) Committee on Baselines under the International Law of the Sea between 2008 – 2018. The Sofia Report (2012) is organized around the interpretation of Article 5 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC) concerning the normal baseline. The Sydney Report (2018) is organized around a common methodology in assessing Articles 7, 8, 10, 13, 14 and 47 of the LOSC concerning straight baselines, closing lines, and straight archipelagic baselines.
While treaties can be notoriously difficult to amend by formal means, they must nevertheless be adapted over time in order to remain useful. Herein lies the role of subsequent practice as a key tool for treaty change. Subsequent practice-a well-established means of treaty interpretation-sometimes diverges from the original treaty provision to such an extent that it can no longer be said to constitute an act of interpretation or application. Rather, it becomes, in effect, one of treaty modification. The modification of treaties by subsequent practice extends to all fields of international law, from the law of the sea, environmental law, and investment law, to human rights and humanitarian law. Such modifications can have significant practical consequences, from revising or creating new rights and obligations, to establishing new institutional mechanisms. Determining when and how treaty modification by subsequent practice occurs poses difficulty to legal scholars and dispute settlement bodies alike, and impacts States' expectations as to their treaty obligations. This significant yet underexplored process is the focus of this book. Modification of Treaties by Subsequent Practice proves that subsequent practice can-under carefully defined conditions that ensure strict accordance with the will of the treaty parties-alter, supplement, and terminate treaty provisions or even entire treaty frameworks. It can also generate customary law and fuel regime interaction. Ultimately, this book demonstrates the relevance and dynamism of the process of treaty modification by subsequent practice, emphasizing the need to deal with the issue head on, and explains-on a theoretical and practical level-how it can be identified and dealt with more consistently in the future. The book thus contributes to a deeper understanding of the process of treaty modification by subsequent practice and its continued role in striking the judicious balance between the stability of treaties on the one hand, and the organic evolution of the law on the other.
. . . an impressive volume and the editors have put together a high quality collection. Research Handbook on International Environmental Law ought to be an invaluable reference source for both teachers and students of international environmental law in the years to come. Web Journal of Current Legal Issues This wide-ranging and comprehensive Handbook examines recent developments in international environmental law (IEL) and the crossover effects of this expansion on other areas of international law, such as trade law and the law of the sea. The expert contributors offer analyses of foundational issues in IEL, such as responsibility for environmental damage, sustainable development and the precautionary principle, alongside studies in topical subject areas including marine protection and the law of international watercourses. This Research Handbook offers an in-depth analysis of IEL, both as a field of law in its own right, and as part of the wider system of international law. It gives a comprehensive view of IEL in all its forms and complexity. With thorough examination of specific environmental regimes and compliance mechanisms, this Handbook will be an indispensable resource for legal scholars, students and practitioners alike.
The United States and Canada are salt water neighbors on the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Despite the general closeness of the political, economic and social relationship, the two States have approached their offshore areas from different perspectives. Canada has long supported expansion of exclusive national control over its adjacent offshore; whereas the United States has been concerned with the balance between national authority and international navigation rights. Canada has tended to view maritime disputes with the United States as local matters; whereas the United States has tended to see the disputes with Canada in global terms. Against this background, Salt Water Neighbor's examines both the international ocean law disagreements that exist between the United States and Canada respecting maritime boundaries, fisheries and navigation rights (e.g., the Northwest Passage) and the numerous cooperative bilateral arrangements that have prevented these disputes from being significant causes of friction between the neighbors. There has not been a comprehensive book-length study of United States-Canada international ocean relations since the early 1970s. Much has changed in the last 30 years. Most importantly, the law and the nature of the disputes between the two States have changed as a result of the adoption of 200 nautical mile zones in the late 1970s.
This book offers diverse, multinational perspectives on traditional and emergent issues in the practice and study of international law. It deals with the evolving foundations of international law and covers a wide range of issues that link international politics to international law.
This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license. It explores the diverse phenomena which are challenging the international law of the sea today, using the unique perspective of a simultaneous analysis of the national, individual and common interests at stake. This perspective, which all the contributors bear in mind when treating their own topic, also constitutes a useful element in the effort to bring today’s legal complexity and fragmentation to a homogenous vision of the sustainable use of the marine environment and of its resources, and also of the international and national response to maritime crimes.The volume analyzes the relevant legal frameworks and recent developments, focusing on the competing interests which have influenced State jurisdiction and other regulatory processes. An analysis of the competing interests and their developments allows us to identify actors and relevant legal and institutional contexts, retracing how and when these elements have changed over time.