Can the United States Establish the Outer Limits of Its Extended Continental Shelf Under International Law?

Although most provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea are regarded customary international law and the United States views most of its provisions as such, the outsider status of the United States causes problems in some areas, especially concerning the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles. This article asks whether it is possible for the United States to establish the outer limits of its continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles in line with international law without becoming a state party to the convention, and if that is possible, how could the United States proceed?     

Vietnam's national interests and the law of the sea

This article explores the relationship between Vietnam's national interests and the international law of the sea. Vietnam's national interests in the marine sphere include defense (the maintenance of a maritime buffer); international relations (enhancing its regional position through joint development and favorable resolution of boundary and fisheries disputes); and economics (stimulating development of its maritime resources). Although ratification of the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention would be somewhat disadvantageous to Vietnam's maritime defense strategy, many provisions would promote Vietnam's interests. Moreover, ratification and implementation of the Convention would signal Vietnam's support for international law and its desire to “rejoin”; the community of Southeast Asian nations. It might also encourage resolution of its boundary disputes, thus opening new areas to resource exploration and development by foreign companies.     

Navigating Between Treaties and Tweets:How to Ensure Discourse about Maritime Freedom Is Meaningful

In contemporary international discourse about maritime freedom (e.g., “freedom of navigation”), nations often speak in generalities, but rarely clarify what they mean. To reduce the risk of misunderstanding, nations should navigate their use of language between two purposes simultaneously. First, any discussion should be concise, communicable, and comprehendible. Additionally, nations should also be prepared to dialogue on these matters in greater depth and detail, and any substantive discussion should be faithful to the applicable international law that binds nations. A way to ensure such discourse is meaningful is by following a three-step process of labeling, framing, and applying. This article details this approach.     

承载力评估在区域人口配置中的应用：以常州为例

从城市生态系统承载力的空间差异性出发,集成GIS空间评价技术和系统动力学（SD）模型,确定城市区域适度总人口规模和各分区人口数量,提出人口分区定量配置新思路和技术集成方法,并将该方法应用于300万人口城市--常州.结果表明： 通过构建常州市区人口、经济、土地与环境的系统动力学模型和多情景模拟分析,在同时满足城市经济发展与环境保护需求下,常州市区远景（2050年）总人口约400万;基于城市承载力空间差异评价进行常州市区总人口的空间配置,将形成240万人的主城及5个15～40万人新城的空间格局,研究结果可为国土开发管理中人口与经济的空间分配提供科学依据.     

Then and Now: Reappraising Freedom of the Seas in Modern Law of the Sea

The principle of freedom of the seas remains the governing paradigm of the high seas in modern law of the sea. Although the principle, as embraced by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC), is no longer an absolute norm, it continues to present fundamental challenges for achieving effective conservation on the high seas as it stands in direct contrast to the conservation duty imposed on states by LOSC. The recent UN General Assembly resolution calling for the adoption of a further Implementing Agreement under LOSC to address conservation on the high seas, highlights the need to build a new ethos for management of the high seas, which will require states to loosen their firm grip on the Grotian doctrine. This article seeks to contribute toward shifting attitudes in relation to the principle of freedom through an examination of the nature and scope of the principle in its historic context and in contemporary law of the sea.     

The General Dispute Settlement System of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea: Overview,Context, and Use

This article provides an introduction to the contributions in this special issue of Ocean Development & International Law. It offers an overview of the dispute settlement provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, placing them in the context of dispute settlement in international law generally, and explaining the extent to which they have been used so far.     

A Code of Conduct for Human and Regional Security Around the South China Sea

In the past decade, there have been calls for a regional code of conduct for the South China Sea to ensure peace and stability in a region replete with conflicting territorial claims over offshore geographical features. This paper will distinguish between the process of codification of rules and principles in one document, on the one hand, and the process of implementing existing rules and principles, on the other hand. It will be argued that rules and principles governing conduct for human and regional security around the South China Sea already exist in many forms and that the South China Sea states are obligated by international law to implement them without waiting for their consolidation in one document.     

Revisiting the Freedom of Fishing and Legal Obligations on States Not Party to Regional Fisheries Management Organizations

For decades, states have cooperated through regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) on the conservation and management of living marine resources on the high seas. Nonmembers, or third states not bound by their decisions, have been an Achilles’ heel. In this article, the legal status of RFMO nonmembers and the freedom of fishing are examined. It is concluded that RFMO nonmembers have concrete obligations with respect to established fisheries subject to RFMO regulation.     

Precautionary Coastal States’ Jurisdiction

Throughout the life of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty there has been considerable development in the law of the sea. Negotiated following the 1958 First United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, at which the customary international law concepts of the territorial sea and continental shelf were codified into treaty law, the law of the sea has since developed through state practice and most importantly through the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Whatever the merits of examining the interaction between Antarctica and the law of the sea have been in the past, there is much to suggest that the general significance of such issues is growing, especially as states seek to determine the outer limits of their continental shelf claims and in doing so determine Antarctic baselines. This article examines these issues from a general law of the sea perspective, taking into account the impact of the Antarctic Treaty while reviewing Australian practice in particular.     

The case in international law for Canada's extension of fisheries jurisdiction beyond 200 miles

In March 1995, Canadian fisheries authorities boarded and arrested the Spanish fishing vessel, Estai, outside the Canadian 200‐mile zone on the Grand Banks, an event that served to focus world attention on a dispute that had its origins in the failure of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to implement an effective conservation and management regime for fish stocks on the high seas, particularly with respect to fish stocks that straddle coastal states’ exclusive economic zones. This article examines the origins of the dispute, including the allegations relating to overfishing of North Atlantic Fisheries Organization‐recommended quotas, the background to the vessel's arrest, and the subsequent confrontation that occurred, both at diplomatic levels and on the high seas, between Canada and the European Union. An analysis is made of the case in international law for Canada's extension of jurisdiction beyond 200 miles pursuant to the provisions of Section 5 of the Coastal Fisheries Protection Act. Finally, the article examines the implications of the recently concluded Agreement on the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks for disputes of the kind that arose in the present case.     

The Impact of the Law of the Sea Convention on Conflict and Conflict Management in the South China Sea

This article examines the impact of the UN Law of the Sea Convention on conflict behavior and management in the South China Sea during four periods: during its negotiation (1973–1982); from its signing to the entry into force (1982–1994); from then until the China-ASEAN Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (1995–2002); and from the setting of a timeline for outer limits of continental shelf submissions to the events following the 2009 submissions (2003–2013). Ambiguous effects were found. On the one hand, the Convention has generated or exacerbated conflict by raising the stakes, failing to resolve key legal issues, and encouraging overlapping zone claims. On the other hand, it has provided obligations, language, and techniques for conflict management and resolution. The conflict-enhancing impact was found to have been more substantial than the peace-promoting effects. Nevertheless, the balance has shifted toward more emphasis on conflict management and also some utilization of the Convention's peacemaking potential. If this long-term trend continues and the Convention is more rigorously respected and applied, the Convention may in the end be found to have contributed to regional peace.     

A Note on the European Union's Integrated Maritime Policy

This article analyses the characteristics of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf as an international decision-making institution in the process of establishing the seaward limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines of the territorial sea under Article 76 of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Commission may be compared to scientific bodies established to give advice relating to the implementation of treaty provisions. However, in the exercise of its functions, the Commission also performs legal-administrative tasks, and its recommendations to individual coastal states entail significant legal effects; for instance, as a means of interpretation under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. The Commission's functions and competencies must be taken into account in classifying and understanding this unique international institution.     

Article 297 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Scope of Mandatory Jurisdiction

This article assesses the scope and content of the automatic exceptions contained in Article 297 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to the compulsory procedures established in Section 2 of Part XV. The Convention's drafting history is examined with a view to determining the validity of the diametrically opposed readings of Article 297(1) endorsed by Annex VII Tribunals in the Southern Bluefin Tuna Award and the Chagos Marine Protected Area (MPA) Award. The interpretation favoured in the Chagos MPA Award—that mandatory jurisdiction is not restricted to the three cases expressly enumerated in Article 297(1)—is consistent with the textual evolution of Part XV. The article situates the approach adopted by the Chagos Tribunal within a wider normative tradition, which holds that adjudicative jurisdiction arises in default of positive textual authorzsation (unless it has been explicitly excluded). It is argued that this approach should be embraced by courts and tribunals when interpreting the Convention's provisions, as it accords with the drafters' aspirations and it serves to strengthen the international Rule of Law.     

China's U-Shaped Line in the South China Sea Revisited

Despite its existence on the Chinese maps for more than six decades, the U-shaped line, as a traditional maritime boundary line of China in the South China Sea, has never received a wide recognition in the world community, much less by the other claimant states in the South China Sea. The U-shaped line is a legal conundrum not only for China but also for the world community, particularly after the map with the U-shaped line, together with China's Notes Verbale with respect to the claims to the outer continental shelves made by Malaysia and Vietnam, were submitted to the UN Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf in May 2009. This article discusses China's recent practice relating to the U-shaped line as well as the external factors that affect the validity of the line and tries to unravel the legal puzzle posed by the line.     

Science,sovereignty, and the third law of the Sea Conference

Abstract

The international law of marine scientific research is currently in flux. Efforts are under way at the Third Law of the Sea Conference to produce a treaty that, among other things, would make the law of research more uniform and certain. Sortie areas of disagreement certainly still exist in the Conference negotiations. Nonetheless, the negotiations have produced proposed treaty provisions concerning the law of research that have met with substantial approval. At this point, it does not appear likely that the Conference will produce major alterations in the main body of these provisions. These proposed treaty provisions indicate the future direction the law of research will take. Even if a workable treaty does not result from the negotiations, these provisions will undoubtedly inform customary international law. This article examines both the areas of agreement and the areas of disagreement at the Third Law of the Sea Conference in an effort to understand the probable future legal regime under which marine scientific research will be conducted.     

Submarine Ridges and Elevations of Article 76 in Light of Published Summaries of Recommendations of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf

Several of the summaries of recommendations of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf contain recommendations involving the application of the provisions of Article 76 of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea with respect to a class of morphological features that can best be described as seafloor highs. The application of these provisions requires the classification of such features into one of the three categories of seafloor highs: oceanic ridges of the deep ocean floor, submarine ridges, and submarine elevations that are natural components of the continental margin. The summaries of the CLCS recommendations provide guidance on the approach that has been adopted for the application of these provisions. Furthermore, the summaries give insight into the principles by which the CLCS is guided in considering the submerged prolongation of the landmass of a coastal state and the delineation of the outer limits of its continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles, and the importance of determining the foot of the continental slope at its base in this connection.     

The Other Abortion Myth—the Failure of the Common Law

The 2006 trial of Suman Sood put criminal abortion on the public agenda for the first time in 25 years in NSW. Response to the case highlights tenacious myths about abortion law in Australia; namely that the common law “is an ass” that allows for abortion only by way of a lack of application of the law. By briefly explaining the history of abortion in Australia, I argue that the Sood case does not represent a general failure of the common law to allow abortion, nor does it support the popular myth that abortion is “technically” illegal, or that doctors who perform abortions have historically been the target of the criminal law in Australia. I show that contrary to myths promoted particularly around the 1998 Western Australian reforms, abortion has long been lawful in Australia, and the common law has merit compared to other regulatory regimes. Hence, arguments for alternative abortion regimes should not depend on myths which are shown to be unrepresentative of the political and legal situation in Australia.

The Territorial Dispute over the Tiaoyu/Senkaku Islands: An Update

Abstract

This article discusses one of the most difficult disputes in the world, the territorial dispute over the Tiaoyu Islands. This dispute has defied solution for decades. The situation in the area has drastically deteriorated since the early 1990s, when the disputants began intensifying their claims. The issues involved in the dispute will be analyzed by reference to current law, as interpreted and applied by international judicial authorities.     

Fishing for Interpretation: The ITLOS Advisory Opinion on Flag State Responsibility for Illegal Fishing in the EEZ

On 2 April 2015, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) rendered its first full-bench Advisory Opinion. In its reply to the request of the West African Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission the ITLOS found that Arts. 62(4), 58(3), 192 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea contain obligations for a flag state to ensure that vessels flying its flag do not engage in illegal fishing in the exclusive economic zones of coastal states. The Advisory Opinion has widely been praised for bringing clarity to the inadequate international fisheries law regime. This article undertakes to analyze the ITLOS's interpretive approach, expose interpretive deficiencies, and offer possible explanations for some of the outcomes where the ITLOS itself did not do so.     

Child Soldiers, International Humanitarian Law, and the Globalization of Childhood

This article reviews the development of the laws and treaties regulating the use of child soldiers and the political, social, and cultural context in which these developments are grounded. Humanitarian and human rights groups have undertaken a major initiative to end the use of young combatants. These efforts are part of a larger children's human rights project designed to create a universal definition of "childhood." Casting the proposed ban on child soldiers in the language of human rights deflects attention from the enormity of the social and cultural changes involved in the proposed transnational restructuring of age categories. Treaty-making efforts reflect an emerging "politics of age" that shapes the concept of "childhood" in international law, and in which different international, regional, and local actors make use of age categories to advance particular political and ideological positions.