Litigating Climate Change under Part XII of the LOSC

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 458-481
Author(s):  
Alan Boyle
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
International Law ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Marine Pollution ◽  
Law And Policy ◽  
Inter State

AbstractInter-state litigation is a weapon employed by weaker states with limited diplomatic leverage over their bigger, more powerful opponents. An authoritative judgment may facilitate a settlement of some kind, whether directly, by further negotiation, or simply by legitimising the claims made. The LOSC was negotiated at a time when climate change was not yet part of the international agenda; however, it must be interpreted and applied with subsequent developments in international law and policy in mind. The harmful, toxic, and persistent effects of climate change more than satisfy the test for marine pollution established by Article 1 of LOSC. Part XII applies to climate change insofar as it has or is likely to have deleterious effects on the marine environment. This article will discuss the role that Part XII of LOSC may play in enforcing states’ obligations to protect and preserve the marine environment from the effects of climate change.

9. Prevention of Marine Pollution

2021 ◽  
pp. 503-570
Author(s):  
Alan Boyle ◽  
Catherine Redgwell
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
International Law ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Marine Pollution ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Legal Regime ◽  
Waste Products ◽  
Disposal Area ◽  
Common Space

This chapter focuses on threats of pollution to the health of the marine environment. It focuses in particular on marine pollution. The oceans constitute a large expanse of common space. The oceans have been freely used for maritime commerce, exploitation of living resources, extraction of oil and gas, and as a disposal area for waste products for centuries. The law needs to protect marine ecosystems as much as any others on land. Climate change has now begun to harm marine ecosystems and international law needs to consider this. The chapter aims to demonstrate the extent to which an international legal regime for the control of marine pollution from ships has developed since 1972, and the degree to which it has proved effective. The big question is: how can it be made more effective in the future?

Climate Change and Maritime Boundaries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Snjólaug Árnadóttir
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
International Law ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Coastal Ecosystems ◽  
Public International Law ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
Core Concepts ◽  
Emerging Issues

Coastal States exercise sovereignty and sovereign rights in maritime zones, measured from their coasts. The limits to these maritime zones are bound to recede as sea levels rise and coastlines are eroded. Furthermore, ocean acidification and ocean warming are increasingly threatening coastal ecosystems, which States are obligated to protect and manage sustainably. These changes, accelerating as the planet heats, prompt an urgent need to clarify and update the international law of maritime zones. This book explains how bilateral maritime boundaries are established, and how coastal instability and vulnerable ecosystems can affect the delimitation process through bilateral negotiations or judicial settlement. Árnadóttir engages with core concepts within public international law to address emerging issues, such as diminishing territory and changing boundaries. She proposes viable ways of addressing future challenges and sets out how fundamental changes to the marine environment can justify termination or revision of settled maritime boundaries and related agreements.

scholarly journals Climate Change and Fisheries Regulation: What We Should Consider for the Future?

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 9735
Author(s):  
Keyuan Zou
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
International Law ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Management System ◽  
International Management ◽  
Fisheries Regulation ◽  
Sea Level Rise Impacts

Climate change and its effect on marine environment, especially ocean warming, acidification and sea level rise, impacts fisheries in different ways. However, fisheries and climate change are regulated by different international management mechanisms, which makes the current fisheries management system face challenges. Realizing this, the present paper is designed to consider whether international law should be introduced to apply better management of fisheries so as to cope with the issues arising from climate change. In addition, the paper highlights the importance of incorporating relevant principles into future fisheries regulations by examining an existing bilateral fishery agreements.

Treaty Evolution, Adaptation and Change: Is the LOSC ‘Enough’ to Address Climate Change Impacts on the Marine Environment?

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 440-457
Author(s):  
Catherine Redgwell
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Marine Pollution ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Wicked Problem ◽  
Marine Environmental Protection ◽  
Legal Responses ◽  
Explicit Mention ◽  
One Stop ◽  
Marine Environmental

AbstractClimate change poses serious threats to the marine environment but there is no explicit mention of climate change, ocean warming and acidification in LOSC. This comes as little surprise, given its conclusion in the early 1980s when appreciation for the potential severity of climate change was emerging. As a ‘living instrument’, the Convention has the flexibility and legal tools to address emerging climate change impacts. This article assesses its capacity to do so, as well as the extent to which the oceans have featured in the climate regime. LOSC is not ‘enough’ – but then, it has never been a ‘one stop shop’ for marine environmental protection, whether from conventional sources of marine pollution or from relatively newly appreciated threats such as the impacts of climate change. Indeed, a multifaceted approach is typical of legal responses to the ‘super wicked’ problem of climate change, and the oceans are no exception.

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