Although the International Law Association (ILA) was established in 1873, it only turned its attention to the internationally shared water resources in 1954, when its half-century study of the applicable principles and rules of international law thereon began. The first ILA committee assigned to this task was the Rivers Committee, which, after a decade of intensive study and through several resolutions and statements, arrived unanimously at a set of articles reflecting customary international law, known as the Helsinki Rules on the Uses of the Waters of International Rivers.The Helsinki Rules, approved at the ILA 1966 Helsinki Conference, were soon widely accepted across the Globe as a non-binding authoritative source of international water law. This monograph traces the work of the ILA leading to the Helsinki Rules, analyses the Rules, and identifies their influence on and contribution to the evolution of international water law.

Although the International Law Association (ILA) was established in 1873, it only turned its attention to the internationally shared water resources in 1954, when its half-century study of the applicable principles and rules of international law thereon began. The first ILA committee assigned to this task was the Rivers Committee, which, after a decade of intensive study and through several resolutions and statements, arrived unanimously at a set of articles reflecting customary international law, known as the Helsinki Rules on the Uses of the Waters of International Rivers. The Helsinki Rules, approved at the ILA 1966 Helsinki Conference, were soon widely accepted across the Globe as a non-binding authoritative source of international water law. This monograph traces the work of the ILA leading to the Helsinki Rules, analyses the Rules, and identifies their influence on and contribution to the evolution of international water law.

'[When] great issues were coming to the fore ... that would determine the future of the mighty Columbia River & the international water relations of those two neighbors, who stand astride most of the North American Continent, Canada & the United States ... Charles Bourne established himself as a preeminent figure in the developing stages of the law.' (from the Biographical Note by Professor Albert E. Utton). One of the drafters of the ILA Helsinki Rules, Professor Charles Bourne is an authority in the field of international water law. He has edited & written widely in respected journals & has served on the noted committees of recognized scholars that have helped shape & interpret the state of the law. This collection compiles a selection of Professor Bourne's definitive articles with a forward by the editor surveying recent developments in the field & an introduction by Professor Lucius Caflisch (Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva). Its comprehensive coverage & Professor Bourne's own stature in the law of international water systems make this essential reading for all specialists & students involved with water, & a tribute to a foremost expert in the field. '... the present volume is a must for anyone seriously interested in the law of international waterways. It evidences a constant scholarly preoccupation with almost all aspects of that law. Above all, it reflects standards of conciseness, clarity, elegance & scholarship which rightly are the envy of Professor Bourne's colleagues.' (From the Preface by Professor Lucius Caflisch).

The Research Handbook on International Water Law surveys the field of the law of shared freshwater resources. In some thirty chapters, it covers subjects ranging from the general principles operative in the field and international groundwater law to the human right to water and whether international water law is prepared to cope with climate disruption. The authors are internationally recognized experts in the field, most with years of experience. The Research Handbook is edited by three scholars and practitioners whose publications and work deal with the law of international watercourses.

This Advanced Introduction to International Water Law provides an overview of the key international rules, principles and institutions involved in the use and protection of shared international freshwater resources.

In December 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the International Law Commission's articles on the responsibility of international organizations, bringing to conclusion not only nearly ten years of reflection by the Commission, governments and organizations on this specific topic, but also decades of study of the wider subject of international responsibility, which had initially focused on State responsibility. Parallel to this reflection by the Commission, diplomats and public officials, the body of international case-law and literature on the many facets of the topic has steadily been growing. Responsibility of International Organizations: Essays in Memory of Sir Ian Brownlie contributes to the body of international literature by collecting a broad spectrum of different and sometimes differing perspectives from well-known experts in the field, ranging from the bench to the Commission, academia, and the world of in-house counsel. The book is also a memorial to the renowned Sir Ian Brownlie, himself a former Chairman of the International Law Commission who, as a leading scholar and practitioner, greatly contributed to the reflection on international responsibility, including the responsibility of international organizations. Edited by Maurizio Ragazzi, a former pupil of Sir Ian, the book is an ideal companion to International Responsibility Today, a collection of essays on international responsibility which the same editor presented in 2005 in memory of Oscar Schachter, and to which Sir Ian Brownlie had contributed. The essays collected in Responsibility of International Organizations: Essays in Memory of Sir Ian Brownlie, conveniently grouped by the editor under broad areas for the reader's benefit, will be relevant not only to all those interested in this specific subject but also, more generally, to all those engaged in the field of international law and the law of international organizations.

In 2017 four rivers in Aotearoa New Zealand, India, and Colombia were given the status of legal persons, and there was a recent attempt to extend these rights to the Colorado River in the USA. Understanding the implications of creating legal rights for rivers is an urgent challenge for both water resource management and environmental law. Giving rivers legal rights means the law can see rivers as legal persons, thus creating new legal rights which can then be enforced. When rivers are legally people, does that encourage collaboration and partnership between humans and rivers, or establish rivers as another competitor for scarce resources? To assess what it means to give rivers legal rights and legal personality, this book examines the form and function of environmental water managers (EWMs). These organisations have legal personality, and have been active in water resource management for over two decades. EWMs operate by acquiring water rights from irrigators in rivers where there is insufficient water to maintain ecological health. EWMs can compete with farmers for access to water, but they can also strengthen collaboration between traditionally divergent users of the aquatic environment, such as environmentalists, recreational fishers, hunters, farmers, and hydropower. This book explores how EWMs use the opportunities created by giving nature legal rights, such as the ability to participate in markets, enter contracts, hold property, and enforce those rights in court. However, examination of the EWMs unearths a crucial and unexpected paradox: giving legal rights to nature may increase its legal power, but in doing so it can weaken community support for protecting the environment in the first place. The book develops a new conceptual framework to identify the multiple constructions of the environment in law, and how these constructions can interact to generate these unexpected outcomes. It explores EWMs in the USA and Australia as examples, and assesses the implications of creating legal rights for rivers for water governance. Lessons from the EWMs, as well as early lessons from the new ‘river persons,’ show how to use the law to improve river protection and how to begin to mitigate the problems of the paradox.

Despite its Finnish initiative and pedigrees, "The Finnish Yearbook of International Law" does not restrict itself to purely Finnish' topics. On the contrary, it reflects the many connections in law between the national and the international. "The Finnish Yearbook of International Law" annually publishes articles of high quality dealing with all aspects of international law, including international law aspects of European law, with close attention to developments that affect Finland. Its offerings include: longer articles of a theoretical nature, exploring new avenues and approaches; shorter polemics; commentaries on current international law developments; book reviews; and documentation of relevance to Finland's foreign relations not easily available elsewhere. "The Finnish Yearbook" offers a fertile ground for the expression of and reflection on the connections between Finnish law and international law as a whole and insight into the richness of this interaction.

The UN Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses is crucial for protecting sources of fresh water. Examining the settlement of water disputes, relationships between legal instruments, and the role of the courts in resolving disagreements, this book is vital to all who seek a deep understanding of water law.

Implementing the goal of sustainable development has long been heralded as the means by which the needs of both present and future generations can be met. However, finding a long-term balance between economic, social and environmental interests, the basic tenet of sustainable development, has proved largely illusive in practice. This book shows that while a number of legal frameworks to help promote the goal of sustainable development have been proposed at the international level they fail to fully capture the essence of sustainable development and international law's capacity to support its implementation. The book offers a critical analysis of past attempts to develop legal frameworks for promoting sustainable development at the international level, and advocates for a fresh approach based on lessons learnt from the law of international watercourses. The book is divided into four sections. The first section includes an overview of the topic area and an understanding of international law. In section two the book explores the meaning of sustainable development and considers the term's relationship with international law. A detailed analysis of how the law of international watercourses seeks to reconcile competing economic, social and environmental interests is carried out in section three. The book concludes with a section advocating the need for a fresh approach to international law and sustainable development and offering the foundations for this approach based on lessons learnt from the law of international watercourses.