The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kittichaisaree Kriangsak
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
International Tribunal ◽  
Dispute Settlement Mechanism ◽  
Legal Context ◽  
National Jurisdiction ◽  
The Law

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) plays a central role as a dispute settlement mechanism for the international law of the sea. This book provides a unique insight into its inner workings exploring both its limitations and its unutilized potentials. New fields such as sea-level rise and the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction play important roles in the ever-expanding scope of the law of the sea. The book charts the evolution of ITLOS and the role it continues to play in international law. It introduces the reader to the historical and legal context for the discussion of ITLOS’s place within this dispute settlement regime, as well as its relationship and interaction with the other choices of dispute settlement mechanisms. It is an invaluable resource for law students, practising lawyers, judges, government and international officials, academics, and those interested in law of the sea.

7 ITLOS’s Jurisprudential Contributions: Present and Future

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kittichaisaree Kriangsak
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
National Jurisdiction ◽  
Maritime Disputes ◽  
The Law ◽  
International Adjudication ◽  
Substantive Law

This chapter explores the present and future contributions of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). Presently, ITLOS has made substantial contributions to the peaceful solution of ongoing maritime disputes and to international efforts against illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. It has also provided guidance on the responsibility and liability regarding activities in the deep seabed area for the benefits of humankind as well as developed procedural rules and substantive law in international adjudication. Human rights at sea, marine environment protection and preservation, and delimitation of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles are some of the areas of the law of the sea elucidated by ITLOS’s rulings. Future challenges include legal issues pertaining to sea-level rise, dispute settlement as regards biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, and potential contentious cases before the Seabed Disputes Chamber arising from exploitation of mineral resources in the deep seabed.

1 ITLOS and the Dispute Settlement System under UNCLOS

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kittichaisaree Kriangsak
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Dispute Settlement Mechanism ◽  
Settlement System ◽  
National Jurisdiction ◽  
Pros And Cons ◽  
The Law ◽  
International Seabed Authority ◽  
Dispute Settlement System ◽  
And Control

This chapter discusses the dispute settlement system under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The dispute settlement system under UNCLOS was drafted with the main purpose of achieving the uniform and effective interpretation and application of UNCLOS, as the compromises it embodied would otherwise be vulnerable to unilateral interpretation. UNCLOS sets up two international organizations: the International Seabed Authority (Authority) and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). The Authority is the organization through which States Parties to UNCLOS organize and control activities in the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof, beyond the limits of national jurisdiction (the Area), particularly with a view to administering the resources of the Area. ITLOS, the dispute settlement mechanism specifically created by UNCLOS, allows urgent issues to be tackled swiftly through seeking provisional measures of protection from a court or tribunal as well as a functional approach. The chapter then considers ITLOS's place within the dispute settlement regime under UNCLOS; entities with access to ITLOS; other international agreements besides UNCLOS that confer jurisdiction on ITLOS; ITLOS's relationship and interaction with the other principal choices of dispute settlement mechanisms; and the pros and cons of using ITLOS instead of other forums.

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and Provisional Measures: Settled Issues and Pending Problems

2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Orrego Vicuña
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Due Process ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
International Tribunal ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
Fish Stocks ◽  
International Court ◽  
The Law ◽  
Dispute Settlement System

AbstractThis presentation describes the system of provisional measures by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea under Article 290 of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea. By pointing towards the binding legal nature of provisional measures and the introduction of a duty to report on compliance efforts, he begins his article stressing the system's efficiency. The author then comments on the various prerequisites while drawing comparisons with the prescription of provisional measures by the International Court of Justice. He finally turns towards the problems of the application of Article 290 by focusing on the requirement of a specific demand by a State party for a provisional measure. While admitting the Tribunal's authorization to issue provisional measures with a view to the marine environment and the increasing influence of the precautionary principle in public international law, he also advises against the temptations to exceed the limits of provisional measures in international law. The interplay with other treaties which refer to the Convention's dispute settlement system (especially the Agreement on Straddling and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks) even adds to this danger in the author's eyes. He closes with an appeal for due process, prudence and impartiality.

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the Protection and Preservation of the Marine Environment: Taking Stock and Prospects

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
pp. 353-385
Author(s):  
SANDRINE W. DE HERDT ◽  
TAFSIR MALICK NDIAYE
Keyword(s):  
Potential Role ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Advisory Opinion ◽  
International Tribunal ◽  
The Law ◽  
Deep Seabed Mining

AbstractThis article takes stock of the contribution of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to the development of international environmental law. It examines in this regard the jurisdiction of the tribunal and provides an overview of its environmental jurisprudence. It then assesses the potential role of ITLOS in relation to some marine environmental challenges ahead. In particular, it considers the possibility of a request for an advisory opinion on climate change, the settlement of disputes regarding deep seabed mining, and the potential role of the tribunal under a new legal instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.

scholarly journals The Future of Compulsory Dispute Settlement Under The Law of the Sea Convention

2005 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemary Rayfuse
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Dispute Resolution ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
International Tribunal ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Law ◽  
Or Applications

In this article Rosemary Rayfuse evaluates the dispute resolution provisions found in Part XV of the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS). While the cases emerging from the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to date have been limited in number, they can provide us with some idea of whether the Part XV machinery has been successful, and allow some predictions to be made as to its continuing role in the development of the law of the sea. Having examined this jurisprudence, she concludes that while the fears of fragmentation in the sense of inconsistent interpretations or applications of legal rules have not yet materialised, the overall role for the dispute settlement provisions in the development of international law seems rather limited.

Relationship Between International Environmental Law and Other Branches of International Law

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Boyle
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
World Trade Organisation ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
International Environmental Law ◽  
The Law

International environmental law is neither a separate nor a self-contained system or sub-system of law. Rather, it is simply part of international law as a whole. It is true that many ‘environmental’ treaties and other legal instruments have been negotiated over the past half-century, and that the study of international environmental law is to a significant extent a study of these treaties and other instruments. Nevertheless, unlike World Trade Organisation (WTO) law, the law of the sea, or human rights law, international environmental law has never been systematically codified into a single treaty or group of treaties. There is neither a dedicated international environmental organisation nor an international dispute settlement process with the ability to give it coherence. This article provides the link between international environmental law and WTO law, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity, environment and human rights, and dispute settlement and applicable law.

scholarly journals International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea

2017 ◽  
pp. 38-48
Author(s):  
Tam Xuan Song
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
International Tribunal ◽  
Effective Role ◽  
Maritime Disputes ◽  
The Law

Although most international disputes are resolved through political means, especially as bilateral discussions and suggestions, international decisions and an important element of arbitration dispute settlement. There are several organizations serving as a place to solve the laws of maritime disputes, but special judicial organs specially designed to conduct such disputes in the International Tribunal for the Sea Law (ITLOS). This article is mainly limited to the procedures and procedures of ITLOS, although it and some other judiciary will be compared. In addition, the views and practices of the settlement of judicial disputes in East Asian states will be examined based on the latest cases filed in ITLOSS. This article discusses the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and its relevance. The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea seems to contemplate extensive jurisdiction for the Tribunal, but since its inception, the Tribunal has heard a very limited number and scope of cases, in part because disputants have other options for adjudication. This article provides a detailed discussion of the jurisdiction of the Tribunal. Then, it concludes in a positive note by emphasizing the tribunal's desire to analyze the important decisions of the tribunal and to create a more effective role in its existing institutional limitations, to ensure a significant contribution in the field of international law and judgment.

scholarly journals Judicialization of the Sea: A Judge's View

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 115 ◽  
pp. 378-383
Author(s):  
Kriangsak Kittichaisaree
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Policy Options ◽  
International Tribunal ◽  
Dispute Settlement Mechanism ◽  
State Party ◽  
The Law ◽  
Legal Constraints ◽  
Settlement Mechanism ◽  
Dispute Settlement Mechanisms

In “Judicialization of the Sea: Bargaining in the Shadow of UNCLOS,” Sara Mitchell and Andrew Owsiak define “legalization” as international legal constraints, and “judicialization” of the law of the sea as states’ sense that their policy options are legally bounded, and that courts have gained the authority to define the meaning of the law of the sea. The authors are generally correct that the processes of legalization and judicialization under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) fundamentally alter interstate behavior in significant ways, whatever the choice of dispute settlement mechanisms a state party to UNCLOS has made. However, as I explain in this essay, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) should be the most often utilized mechanism to settle UNCLOS disputes, and its potential as a dispute settlement mechanism has yet to be used to the fullest extent.

Preliminary Thoughts on Marine Spatial Planning in Areas beyond National Jurisdiction

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 570-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasco Becker-Weinberg
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Planning ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Marine Spatial Planning ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
National Jurisdiction ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Many

Abstract The conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction is one of the most controversial issues facing the law of the sea, and one that will probably be the scope of a new implementing agreement of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (losc). The agreement will address a set of challenges not on the agenda at the time losc was drafted, constituting an opportunity for addressing innovative notions, but also to question established ones as States attempt to ensure the compatibility between the former and the latter. One of the many challenges and a key aspect is the adoption of area-based management tools such as marine spatial planning. This article examines the existing legal gap regarding the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction and the use of marine spatial planning as an essential area-based management tool.

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