The Guarani Aquifer System and the International Law of Transboundary Aquifers

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Sindico
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Treaty ◽  
Aquifer System ◽  
First Response ◽  
Key Characteristics ◽  
Guarani Aquifer ◽  
General Assembly Resolution ◽  
Un General Assembly ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Transboundary Aquifers

AbstractArgentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay signed the Guarani Aquifer Agreement on 2 August 2010. This is the first international treaty regarding the management of a specific transboundary aquifer to have been adopted after the UN International Law Commission (UNILC) adopted the Draft Articles on the Law of Transboundary Aquifers, which have been annexed to UN General Assembly Resolution 63/124. The latter encourages States to take into account the Draft Articles when devising arrangements for the management of specific transboundary aquifers. The Guarani Aquifer Agreement, therefore, is a first response to this call from the international community. In this article the background to the Guarani Aquifer Agreement is explored, including an overview of the key characteristics of the Guarani Aquifer System and the steps that have led to the adoption of the Guarani Aquifer Agreement. Sovereignty, the obligation to cooperate and the incipient institutional framework are discussed as key elements arising from the Guarani Aquifer Agreement. Finally, the article argues that a link between the latter and the UNILC Draft Articles can be appreciated. This link has important practical implications especially in relation to the applicability of the UNILC Draft Articles for interpretation purposes of the Guarani Aquifer Agreement.

The Work of the International Law Commission, 2007–2011: Progress and Prospects

2012 ◽  
Vol 106 (2) ◽  
pp. 322-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald McRae
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Un General Assembly ◽  
The Law ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Transboundary Aquifers ◽  
Law Commission ◽  
The Way

On November 17, 2011, the UN General Assembly elected the members of the International Law Commission for the next five years. In the course of the quinquennium that was completed in August 2011 with the end of the sixty-third session, the Commission concluded four major topics on its agenda: the law of transboundary aquifers, the responsibility of international organizations, the effect of armed conflicts on treaties, and reservations to treaties. It was by any standard a substantial output. The beginning of a new quinquennium now provides an opportunity to assess what the Commission has achieved, to consider the way it operates, and to reflect on what lies ahead for it.

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.

The Draft Articles on the Law of Transboundary Aquifers: The Process at the UN ILC

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raya Marina Stephan
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
International Law ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Proper Management ◽  
Un General Assembly ◽  
The Law ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Transboundary Aquifers ◽  
Law Commission

AbstractIn 2002, the UN International Law Commission added to its program of work the topic of Shared Natural Resources: transboundary groundwater, oil and gas. Six years later, the UN ILC completed its work on the first sub-topic by adopting at second reading nineteen draft articles on the law of transboundary aquifers. The draft articles were then deferred to the UN General Assembly, which adopted Resolution A/RES/63/124 including the draft articles in annex. In the Resolution, the UN GA “encourages the States concerned to make appropriate bilateral or regional arrangements for the proper management of their transboundary aquifers, taking into account the provisions of these draft articles”.The paper will go through the main principles codified in the draft articles. The UN ILC had benefited from a unique cooperation on the science of hydrogeology from UNESCO’s International Hydrological Program; hence it considered and covered issues of main importance for hydrogeologists.

The Guarani Aquifer Accord

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-263
Author(s):  
Catherine Tinker
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
Technical Information ◽  
Underground Water ◽  
Joint Commission ◽  
Aquifer System ◽  
Guarani Aquifer ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Reasonable Use

The Guarani Aquifer Accord of 2010 represents a plan for the multiple, sustainable, equitable and reasonable use of the water of the Guarani Aquifer System and a pledge to prevent significant harm to this vast natural resource in South America. Based on good science and good international law, this regional agreement was reached by Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, acknowledging the environmental, economic and geopolitical importance of the underground water linking the four states known as the “Guarani Aquifer System.” The Guarani Aquifer Accord (“Acordo sobre o Aquífero Guarani” or “Acuerdo Aquífero Guarani”) is the first regional treaty to be modeled after the International Law Commission Draft Articles on Transboundary Aquifers of 2008, which address “confined” aquifers that are outside the scope of the United Nations Watercourses Convention of 1997. This article explores the Guarani Aquifer Accord’s provisions for exchanges of scientific and technical information, notification and consultation, direct negotiations, referral to a joint commission to be created once the Accord enters into force for evaluation and recommendations in case of a dispute, and the option of a subsequent arbitration protocol to be negotiated in future. Taken together, procedural requirements and the provisions in the Accord in favor of diplomatic and political resolution of future disputes over the use and protection of the water may forestall the need to resort to litigation in international courts or tribunals. This article concludes that, even absent an additional protocol for arbitration of disputes and absent the establishment of a joint commission to facilitate information exchange, convene regular meetings and build trust as contained in the agreement, the Guarani Aquifer Accord provides a framework for regional cooperation designed to avoid or resolve conflicts.

scholarly journals National Sovereignty Versus Transboundary Water Cooperation: Can You See International Law Reflected in the Water?

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 115 ◽  
pp. 178-182
Author(s):  
Francesco Sindico
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Transboundary Water ◽  
National Sovereignty ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
Aquifer System ◽  
Water Cooperation ◽  
Guarani Aquifer ◽  
International Water Law ◽  
Downstream Flow ◽  
Transboundary Water Cooperation

Could Turkey dam the Tigris and Euphrates and deprive its downstream neighbors of vital water resources? Could Brazil over-pump the Guarani Aquifer System to the detriment of the other aquifer states? Could Egypt put pressure on upstream Nile states and prevent them from developing river related infrastructure that might limit downstream flow? International law in the field of transboundary water cooperation has evolved and would appear to condemn unilateral practices such as the ones suggested above. However, hydro politics and the lack of reception of international water law instruments by many countries sometimes make it difficult to see international law properly reflected in the management of major rivers, lakes and aquifers around the world. In this essay, I first highlight what international law dictates when it comes to the tension between national sovereignty and transboundary water cooperation. I then explore how this tension plays out in the three examples noted above. Due to limited acceptance of the existing international, bilateral, or regional legal instruments, the resolution of the tension between national sovereignty and transboundary water cooperation will often be left to customary international law.

scholarly journals Pidana Kerja Sosial, Tokyo Rules, serta Tantangannya di Masa Mendatang

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 517
Author(s):  
Maria Ulfah
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Community Service ◽  
Criminal Code ◽  
Correctional Institutions ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Future ◽  
General Assembly Resolution ◽  
Un General Assembly ◽  
The One ◽  
Alternative Sanctions

Community service order is one of the alternative sanctions from short-term imprisonment and light fines as regulated in Article 65, Article 82, and Article 85 of the Draft of Indonesia Criminal Code on the September 2019 (RUU KUHP). Community service order is expected to be the one solution for the overcrowded state of Correctional Institutions in Indonesia due to the large number of articles with imprisonment. Community service order as a new criminal sanction in the future requires further arrangements that can support its implementation in the future and it is possible that several challenges arise in its implementation. The contents of further regulations related to community service order in this research are explored through general guidelines in the international law, namely the Tokyo Rules (UN General Assembly Resolution Number 45/110). This research uses qualitative research with normative juridical research methods in the form of analytical descriptive. The result of this study is twenty-two provisions in the Tokyo Rules can be used as a guide in determining the contents of further regulations related community service order. In addition, the factors can become challenges must be carefully considered by legal policy makers so that they are minimized in the implementation of community service order in the future. Pidana kerja sosial adalah salah satu sanksi alternatif dari pidana penjara jangka waktu pendek maupun sanksi pidana denda ringan yang diatur dalam Pasal 65, Pasal 82, dan Pasal 85 Rancangan Undang-Undang tentang Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana September 2019 (RUU KUHP). Pidana kerja sosial diharapkan menjadi salah satu solusi dari keadaan overcrowded Lembaga Pemasyarakatan di Indonesia akibat banyaknya pasal dengan sanksi pidana penjara. Pidana kerja sosial sebagai sanksi pidana baru di masa mendatang membutuhkan pengaturan lebih lanjut yang dapat mendukung implementasinya di masa mendatang dan dimungkinkan muncul beberapa tantangan dalam implementasinya. Isi dalam pengaturan lebih lanjut terkait pidana kerja sosial dalam penelitian ini dapat digali melalui pedoman umum dalam dunia internasional yakni Tokyo Rules (Resolusi Majelis Umum PBB Nomor 45/110). Penelitian ini menggunakan penelitian kualitatif dengan metode penelitian yuridis normatif berbentuk deksriptif analitis. Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah adanya dua puluh dua ketentuan dalam Tokyo Rules yang dapat menjadi panduan dalam menentukan isi pengaturan lebih lanjut terkait pidana kerja sosial. Selain itu, faktor-faktor yang dapat menjadi tantangan harus dipikirkan secara matang oleh pembuat kebijakan hukum agar terminimalisir dalam pelaksanaan pidana kerja sosial di masa mendatang.

The Work of The International Law Commission on “Relations between States and International Organizations” Discontinued: an Assessment

1993 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter H.F. Bekker
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Legal Personality ◽  
Progressive Development ◽  
Un General Assembly ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Law Commission

The UN General Assembly has recently decided to delete from the agenda of the International Law Commission the topic ‘Relations between States and International Organizations’.Over a period of 31 years, fourteen Reports by two successive Special Rapporteurs studied the topic in two parts. The First part of the topic (1963–1975) dealt with the privileges and immunities of representatives of states to international organizations, and resulted in a Convention, that has, however, not yet entered into force; the Second part of the topic (1976–1992) concentrated on the legal status and immunities of organizations themselves.The author analyzes the Draft Articles that have been submitted in the course of the ILC's study of the Second part. This is done by way of a three-step application of the functional necessity concept of organizational immunities:(1) Status, dealing with an organization's functions, legal personality and capacity-(2) Selection, defining a scale of organizational immunities for which an organization may be eligible - and (3) Scope, determining the extent of selected immunities. Finally, the author employs the two statutory functions of the ILC -the codification of international law and the progressive development of international law- to assess the contribution by the ILC to this field of international institutional law.

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