Dispute Settlement under the 1982 UNCLOS and the new 2023 BBNJ Agreement: An Evaluation

This seminar will be moderated by Prof Tommy Koh, Chairman, International Advisory Panel, NUS Centre for International Law

Seminar Room 4-1 @ NUS Bukit Timah Campus
Block B, Level 4, 469 Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 259756
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INTRODUCTION The dispute settlement provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)broke new ground in 1982 in establishing a system for compulsory dispute settlement. The system has been in operation for 30 years now, and a variety of cases have been brought by States under Part XV of UNCLOS. In this seminar, Professor Joanna Mossop will look at some of the key themes emerging from the cases and engage with criticisms from some States and academics about the role that courts and tribunals have played in various cases including the South China Sea and Chagos arbitrations. She will touch on jurisdiction under Part XV, the role of Advisory Opinions (such as the recent ITLOS Advisory Opinion on Climate Change) and the appropriate role for courts and tribunal in contentious cases. 

Professor Mossop will also discuss the dispute settlement provisions of the BBNJ Agreement from her perspective as an observer at the negotiations of the Agreement. She will shed light on some of the more unusual aspects of article 60 of the Agreement and argue that in general the Agreement demonstrates that States still have a significant degree of confidence in Part XV of UNCLOS.

This presentation is based on a forthcoming publication in ICLQ with Professor Douglas Guilfoyle.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER Professor Joanna Mossop (Victoria University of Wellington) is a legal scholar who focuses on the international law of the sea. Her publications cover a range of issues including maritime security, biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction, dispute settlement, ocean governance and the continental shelf. Her 2016 book, The Continental Shelf beyond 200 Nautical Miles: Rights and Responsibilities (Oxford University Press) was a co-winner of the JF Northey Memorial Book Award. Professor Mossop is a member of a number of editorial boards including Marine Policy. She is the co-editor of the Brill monograph series, Publications on Ocean Development. She has been heavily involved in the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law (ANZSIL) as a two-time Council member, two years as the New Zealand Vice President, and she was the co-chair of the Ocean and International Environmental Law Interest Group until July 2024.  She has provided advice and training in law of the sea matters to the New Zealand government and the UN Development Agency. In 2019 the New Zealand government nominated her to the list of Arbitrators and Conciliators under Annexes V and VII of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. She was an independent legal adviser on the New Zealand delegation to the Intergovernmental Conference that negotiated the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction. With Professor David Freestone she is currently co-editing a Commentary on the Agreement that will be published by Oxford University Press in early 2025.

PROGRAMME

3.50pm Registration

4.00pm Presentation by Professor Joanna Mossop

5.00pm Q&A session, moderated by Professor Tommy Koh

5.30pm End of Seminar

1.0 Public CPD Point
Practice Area: International Law
Training Category: General

Participants who wish to obtain CPD Points are reminded that they must comply strictly with the Attendance Policy set out in the CPD Guidelines. For this activity, this includes signing in on arrival and signing out at the conclusion of the activity in the manner required by the organiser, and not being absent from the entire activity for more than 15 minutes. Participants who do not comply with the Attendance Policy will not be able to obtain CPD Points for attending the activity. Please refer to http://www.sileCPDcentre.sg for more information.

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