On 11 April 2016, Timor-Leste initiated a compulsory non-binding conciliation proceeding against Australia under Annex V of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on its maritime boundary dispute with Australia in the Timor Sea. On 6 March 2018, the parties signed a settlement treaty on the basis of the proposal of the Conciliation Commission. Two months later, the Conciliation Commission issued its report, marking the conclusion of the first ever conciliation proceeding under Annex V of UNCLOS.This book provides detailed analyses of the proceedings and a step-by-step account of the conciliation process, as well as its wider implications for dispute settlement under UNCLOS and beyond. The various chapters explore a wide range of issues, including an overview of conciliation as a means of dispute settlement and the conciliation procedure in UNCLOS, as well as the origins and historical background of the maritime boundary dispute between Timor-Leste and Australia. The book also provides a comprehensive examination of each step of the conciliation proceedings, including the role of the Conciliation Commission, the Conciliation Commission's Decision on Competence, the issue of joint development, and the Maritime Boundaries Treaty, which Timor-Leste and Australia concluded as the legal outcome of the conciliation proceedings. Critically, the book offers insightful perspectives from Australia and Timor-Leste on the conciliation process. The book is an important contribution to the research and analysis of the Timor Sea conciliation. As one of the first books on the case, it will raise awareness and bring more familiarity with conciliation as a viable and effective dispute settlement process, thereby encouraging states to consider conciliation as a means to settle their disputes.

Offering a practical exploration of persistent and new challenges relating to contemporary international fisheries law, this book examines emerging and unresolved issues in international fisheries law. Covering a wide range of international legal aspects related to fisheries governance, it offers practical perspectives that go beyond the existing debates in this field. An expert team of contributors offers a comprehensive study of current challenges in fisheries governance, institutional law frameworks, procedural aspects and trade and enforcement issues. The book enriches fisheries law scholarship, outlining the capacity of international law to address challenges in international fisheries law and policy, highlighting the critical importance of fisheries to many states, coastal communities and economies globally. The book’s chapters have been meticulously selected, focusing on policy and practical considerations. The result is a comprehensive edited collection covering the main persistent challenges in international fisheries law, making it an essential reading for all those interested in the conservation, integrated management and sustainable use of living resources globally.

The international dispute settlement system is currently facing many challenges regarding the authority, effectiveness, and legitimacy of its methods and mechanisms and their coordination. These challenges cut across different fields of international law and relations such as investment, trade, human rights, water resources, the law of the sea, the environment, international peace and security, disaster law, space, and cyberspace. New technologies also impact on the scope of existing disputes and their settlement, which lead to the emergence of new disputes and ways of settling them. This book offers insightful reflections by academics and practitioners on such challenges and how they can be addressed as well as on how the international dispute settlement system should adapt to attain its aim of maintaining peace and international legality. It deals with many contemporary issues and is wide-ranging in scope. It is suitable for students, scholars, and practitioners of international dispute settlement, international law, and international relations.

A Bridge Over Troubled Waters: Dispute Resolution in the Law of International Watercourses and the Law of the Sea offers novel comparative analysis from leading experts on the resolution of disputes concerning international watercourses and the oceans.

Written by an incumbent Judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, this volume in the Elements of International Law series shows why a stable legal regime governing the uses and management of the oceans is such an important feature of international relations. Providing a fresh, objective, and non-argumentative approach to the discipline of international law, the Elements series is an accessible go-to source for practicing international lawyers, judges and arbitrators, government and military officers, scholars, teachers, and students. In seven incisive chapters, Judge Kittichaisaree provides a clear overview of the organization and structure of the Tribunal and explores the various dispute mechanisms and advisory opinions that lie at the heart of its jurisprudence. He further guides readers through ITLOS' intended role as the main dispute settlement mechanism for the international law of the sea. With first-hand experience and detailed analysis of the relevant instruments and prominent cases, he sheds light on the inner workings of the Tribunal, providing an accessible and invaluable resource for students and practitioners alike. The final chapter concludes by considering ITLOS' place in the settlement of future disputes in the law of the sea.

International law concerning maritime boundary dispute resolution reflects normative aspirations for peacefully managing some of the most intractable challenges in foreign affairs. Focusing on key international law issues relating to maritime boundary disputes, this book explores how international law and legal institutions facilitate these goals theoretically and practically. This process includes a balance of equities among states grounded in the Charter of the United Nations and the protection of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence of Member States, while avoiding threats to the peace, breaches of the peace, and acts of aggression. The UN Charter is complemented by the rules in customary law and UNCLOS for evaluating maritime claims and addressing disputes, including conciliation, litigation, and arbitration. Despite the comprehensive nature of these procedures, numerous maritime disputes persist, including those in the East China Sea and South China Sea. As the disputes continue, however, general international law and the UNCLOS framework captures additional norms and rules that may act to reduce tension and manage disputes. As States shift closer to or farther from compliance on maritime claims and delimitation, the rules of behavior that pertain to flag States and coastal States may help to maintain the peace. This volume offers a distributed study in the factors affecting maritime disputes, international law frameworks and diplomatic models for addressing them, and legal, security, and historical dynamics in East Asia. The book goes beyond the existing debate to offer suitable methods for managing contemporary disputes and makes a meaningful impact on thinking about regional maritime security and international maritime law.

This comprehensive Research Handbook provides a detailed exploration of the principles and rules that impact the procedures and operation of international courts and tribunals. Within this framework, leading experts examine how the evolution of procedural rules and concepts has given rise to a distinct body of rules known as international procedural law.

Distinguished scholars and practitioners commemorate and expand upon the work of international judge, arbitrator, and professor, David D. Caron (1952-2018). By Peaceful Means is an insightful examination of how international dispute resolution seeks to avert disaster and mitigate discord, and how it might continue to do so in our uncertain future.

In the past decade, tensions in Asia have risen as Beijing has become more assertive in maritime disputes with its neighbors and the United States. Although taking place below the threshold of direct military confrontation, China’s assertiveness frequently involves coercive elements that put at risk existing rules and norms; physical control of disputed waters and territory; and the credibility of U.S. security commitments. Regional leaders have expressed increasing alarm that such “gray zone” coercion threatens to destabilize the region by increasing the risk of conflict and undermining the rules-based order. Yet, the United States and its allies and partners have struggled to develop effective counters to China’s maritime coercion. This study reviews deterrence literature and nine case studies of coercion to develop recommendations for how the United States and its allies and partners could counter gray zone activity.