scholarly journals The contribution of the International Law Commission to international water law: does it reverse the flight from substance?

1996 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Nollkaemper
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Water Law ◽  
International Water Law ◽  
International Water ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Law Commission

Moving Ahead in Protecting Freshwater Resources: The International Law Commission's Draft Articles on Transboundary Aquifers

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 801-821 ◽  
Author(s):  
KERSTIN MECHLEM
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Water Law ◽  
Polar Ice ◽  
Freshwater Resources ◽  
Un General Assembly ◽  
International Water Law ◽  
International Water ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Transboundary Aquifers

AbstractOn 11 December 2008 the UN General Assembly adopted a set of draft articles on the law of transboundary aquifers which had been prepared by the International Law Commission (ILC) between 2002 and August 2008. These draft articles are the first official instrument that lays down rules of international law for the management and protection of groundwater, which makes up 97 per cent of the Earth's freshwater resources, excluding the resources locked in polar ice. This article discusses the contribution of the draft articles to the development of international water law. It first provides some background on the importance of shared groundwater resources, then describes the ILC's work on transboundary aquifers, and finally assesses in detail the draft articles and the way ahead.

International Water R esources Law and the International Law Commission Draft Articles on Transboundary Aquifers: A Missed Opportunity for Cross-Fertilisation?

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Owen McIntyre
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
International Law ◽  
Guiding Principle ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
Geological Formation ◽  
International Water ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Transboundary Aquifers ◽  
Law Commission ◽  
Missed Opportunity

AbstractWhile the Draft Articles on the Law of Transboundary Aquifers adopted in 2008 by the International Law Commission (ILC)1 follow the same format as the 1997 UN Watercourses Convention2 and might reasonably have been expected to adopt a similar normative approach wherever possible, the Preamble to the Draft Articles fails to make any reference to this or to other seminal instruments or codifications in the area of international water resources law and the document takes, in some respects, a radically different and less progressive stance. The principal difference in the Draft Articles, and one which can be linked to most of the other deviations, is the inclusion of an express reference to the sovereignty of aquifer States in a manner implying that this is the key guiding principle of the instrument. This emphasis on State sovereignty over shared, and often migratory, water resources appears to represent something of a retreat from the distributive equity inherent in the firmly established principle of equitable and reasonable utilization and from the intense procedural and institutional cooperation required to achieve the community of interests approach necessary to give meaning to this principle. Reliance on sovereignty implies instead a drift towards a position based more on the narrow and immediate self-interest of States. In order to avoid such an interpretation, it would have been better if the Draft Articles had sought to establish two separate but parallel regimes, one based on sovereignty and covering the static geological formation of the aquifer, and one covering the shared water resources contained in, and transiting through, the formation and based on equitable and reasonable utilization.

scholarly journals Water Security and International Law

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuomas Kuokkanen
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Water Law ◽  
Rules And Principles ◽  
International Water Law ◽  
International Water ◽  
The Relationship

The article explores water security from an international law point of view. The article argues that in order to better understand water security it is important to focus on the function of international water law. Even though water security is a relatively recent concept it was latent in the process of the evolution of international water law.  In addition, the article examines the relationship between man and water from the point of view of water security. The article seeks to answer the question: how does international water law deal with that relationship? Is water only an object to be utilized and protected or has the relationship become more complex and ambivalent through the occurrence of various extreme events. Furthermore, the article places the concept of water security into a historiographical and substantive context. It explores three broad approaches by international law to water issues: general international law, the regulatory approach and the management approach. The article argues that they are all relevant to water security. Finally, the article seeks to demonstrate that even though water security has emerged as a new notion, this does not mean that international law does not include rules and principles relevant for water security. Indeed, many general principles of international law are applicable in the context of water security. In addition, specific regulations dealing with water quantity and quality issues have been developed in international environmental law, although they are not necessarily labelled as water security rules. Moreover, various risk management methods have been elaborated to deal with water-related disasters and crises. Reciprocally, water security arguments are not necessarily new notions but rather reflect already existing concepts and principles. 

scholarly journals O Papel do Institut du Droit International e da International Law Association na Codificação das normas do Direito Internacional de Águas: entre hard law e soft law

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (39) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gildo Manuel Espada
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
Water Law ◽  
Hard Law ◽  
The Status ◽  
International Water Law ◽  
International Water ◽  
Droit International ◽  
Vital Resource

RESUMOA importância da água como recurso vital para a humanidade e as disputas sobre o acesso a este recurso são cada vez mais intensas. Aliado a estes factos, acontece que grande parte dos recursos de água do planeta faz parte de recursos hídricos partilhados entre dois ou mais Estados. Este facto fez com que algumas organizações internacionais, mormente o Institut du Droit International e a International Law Association se esforçassem em codificar o Direito Internacional de Águas. Entretanto, apesar de todo o esforço feito, as normas aprovadas não obtiveram o estatuto de hard law, sendo aplicadas na qualidade de normas de soft law. Discutimos aqui a validade e importância de tais normas, no âmbito da Codificação do Direito de Águas. Para tal, fazemos um levantamento bibliográfico que visa o resgate histórico do surgimento do Direito de Águas, e trazemos importantes conceitos aplicáveis à temática. PALAVRAS-CHAVECodificação. Direito. Águas. ABSTRACTThe importance of water as a vital resource for humanity and the disputes over access to this resource are increasingly intense. Together with these facts, a large part of the planet´s water resources are shared between two or more States. These facts have led to a number of international organizations, including the Institut de Droit International and the International Law Association to embark in efforts to codify the International water Law.  However, despite all the efforts made, the rules adopted did not obtain the status of hard law, being only accepted and applied as soft law. We discuss here the validity and importance of such standards, within the framework of the codification of water law. To do this, we make a bibliographical research that aims to review the emergence of Water Law historically, and to bring important concepts applicable to this thematic. KEYWORDSCodification. Law. Water.

Past, Present and Future of the International Law of Transboundary Aquifers

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerstin Mechlem
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Water Law ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Law ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Transboundary Aquifers ◽  
Law Commission ◽  
The Way

AbstractThe article discusses the development of international groundwater law from the first codification efforts of modern water law until present and raises relevant issues for the way forward. It first traces international groundwater law from the 1960s until the end of the last century. It then reviews the growing attention groundwater has received during the last decade and third discusses the status quo. It places particular emphasis on the 2008 Draft Articles on the Law of Transboundary Aquifers adopted by the International Law Commission and the legal arrangements made for five of the 273 transboundary aquifers. It concludes with thoughts on the way forward in this important and understudied area of international law.

The International Law Association Helsinki Rules

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-110
Author(s):  
Slavko Bogdanović
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
International Law ◽  
Water Law ◽  
Intensive Study ◽  
International Rivers ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
International Water Law ◽  
International Water

AbstractAlthough the International Law Association (ILA) was established in 1873, it only turned its attention to the internationally shared water resources in 1954, when its study of the applicable principles and rules of international law thereon began. The first ILA committee assigned to this task was the Rivers Committee, which, after a decade of intensive study and through several resolutions and statements, arrived unanimously at a set of articles reflecting customary international law, known as The Helsinki Rules on the Uses of the Waters of International Rivers.The Helsinki Rules approved at the ILA Helsinki Conference in 1966 were soon widely accepted across the globe as a non-binding authoritative source of international water law. This monograph traces the work of ILA leading to the approval of the Helsinki Rules, analyses the Rules, and identifies their influence on, and contribution to the evolution of international water law.

Transboundary watercourses, dams and human migration: an international water law perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-175
Author(s):  
Tamar Meshel
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Human Migration ◽  
Water Law ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Significant Harm ◽  
International Water Law ◽  
International Water ◽  
Transboundary Watercourses

This article examines the potential contribution of international water law (IWL) to alleviating the negative cross-border impacts of ‘dam-induced migration’, the displacement of individuals or communities resulting from dam construction. While much has been written on efforts to deal with this global problem in other areas of international law, the application of IWL in this context has yet to be meaningfully explored. But since dams are frequently constructed on transboundary watercourses, the principles of IWL (no significant harm, equitable and reasonable utilisation, and the duty to cooperate) may prove relevant and useful to mitigating the harmful cross-border impacts of dam-induced migration. The no significant harm principle requires States to comply with a due diligence standard of conduct designed to avoid, minimise, or compensate for significant harm that might result from the use of shared watercourses, including harm to human life or health. The equitable and reasonable utilisation principle obligates each basin State to use an international watercourse in a manner that is equitable and reasonable vis-à-vis the other States sharing it. The duty to cooperate requires States to collaborate in the management and use of shared watercourses and sets out concrete measures to enable collaboration, such as information exchange, consultations, and the establishment of joint institutions. Taken together, these IWL principles can effectively guide the planning, construction, and operation of dams on shared watercourses. Applying them to the specific issue of dam-induced migration, moreover, could promote inter-State cooperation and accountability, facilitate the resolution of disputes, and alleviate negative cross-border impacts. In this way, IWL can supplement other areas of international law in providing a comprehensive solution to the growing problem of dam-induced migration.

The Primacy of the Principle of Equitable Utilization in the 1997 Watercourses Convention

1998 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 215-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles B. Bourne
Keyword(s):  
General Assembly ◽  
Water Law ◽  
Final Report ◽  
International Court ◽  
International Water Law ◽  
International Water ◽  
No Harm Principle ◽  
Equitable Utilization ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
The Relationship

SummaryThe International Law Commission wrestled for over a decade with the relationship between the principle of equitable utilization and the no harm principle in its work on the law of the non-navigational uses of international watercourses. In its final Report to the UN General Assembly on this topic in 1994, the Commission presented a set of Draft Articles couched in obscure language that reflected the sharp differences of opinion on the matter and the compromises that had been made. This division of opinion about the relationship between these two principles persisted in the Working Group of the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly to which the Draft Articles were referred. Again, compromises were reached and the language of the substantive articles (in particular Articles 5, 7, 20, and 21) of the Watercourses Convention, adopted by the General Assembly on May 21, 1997, continues to be obscure and its meaning debatable.It is argued here that in this Convention the principle of equitable utilization, which prescribes the reasonable and equitable sharing of the beneficial uses of the waters of an international watercourse, is made the primary substantive rule of international water law; harm caused by a utilization of these waters is, of course, an important factor to be taken into account in determining whether, in a particular case, the utilization is reasonable and equitable and, therefore, lawful. This interpretation of the Watercourses Convention brings it into harmony with customary international water law. It is an interpretation that finds support in the recent decision of the International Court of fustice in the Gabákovo case.

Adapting Watercourse Agreements to Developments in International Law

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-88
Author(s):  
Maria A. Gwynn
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
International Law ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Water Law ◽  
South American ◽  
Hydroelectric Energy ◽  
South American Region ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
International Water Law ◽  
International Water

AbstractThe United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (UN Watercourses Convention) recommends that states apply and adapt their watercourse agreements to the provisions of the UN Watercourses Convention. To explore the advantages of abiding to crucial developments in international water law, environmental law, and climate change law, this monograph will analyze the most important hydroelectric energy treaty in the South American region, the Itaipu Treaty. The monograph will argue that adapting watercourse agreements to developments in international law provides a way to foster sustainable development for the treaty parties, the countries sharing the watercourse ecosystem, as well as the international community as a whole.

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