As an island nation heavily dependent on its surrounding marine environment for transport, fisheries and aquaculture resources, tourism, recreation and shipping, New Zealand has an obvious strong interest in the development and maintenance of a clear, robust and fair international law framework regarding the sea.
New Zealand has signed and ratified the most important international instrument governing activities in the marine environment: the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In 2012, it finally passed legislation which included formal requirements for assessment and consenting of activities within its exclusive economic zone. This class will present on an introduction to the law of the sea, including an entree to the UNCLOS, and examination of an interesting decision on the obligations of small island states sponsoring commercial entities engaging in mineral extraction in international waters.
In this class, we will also look at a recent example of international litigation under the UNCLOS framework relating to a dispute between China and the Philippines concerning resource rights and activities within the heavily disputed marine zone of the South China Sea.
On 22 January 2013, the Republic of the Philippines instituted arbitral proceedings against the People’s Republic of China under Annex VII to UNCLOS, “with respect to the dispute with China over the maritime jurisdiction of the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea.” The award (PDF) of an arbitral tribunal operating under the auspices of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague issued its final award on 12 July 2016, described by University of Sydney Law Professor Tim Stephens as “one of the most complex and significant decisions rendered by an international court or tribunal in the international law of the sea.”
Law of the Sea readings
Commentary
Instruments
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
Decisions
Domestic legislation
Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act 2012
International Environmental Law 