421
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
A. Del Vecchio, R. Virzo (eds.), Interpretations of the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea by International Courts and Tribunals,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10773-4_21
‘Considerations of Humanity’
in the Jurisprudence of ITLOS
and UNCLOS Arbitral Tribunals
Francesca Delfino
Abstract This article observes that ‘considerations of humanity’ was previously a
notion pertaining exclusively to the field of international humanitarian law and
human rights law. Indeed, those branches are two bodies of international law that
are closely related to humanity. Notably, their main concern is the respect for and
the protection of human dignity which is one of the essential minimum standards of
humanity. Consequently, the leitmotiv of humanitarian law and human rights law is
a concern for ‘considerations of humanity’, which represent the foundation for the
protection of human rights. This article shows, however, that in recent years a new
trend has been developing, in accordance with which ‘considerations of humanity’
play an important role outside international human rights law and international
humanitarian law. Specifically, it has been demonstrated that there are also numerous references to ‘considerations of humanity’ in the jurisprudence of international
courts and tribunals that do not deal with human rights. In particular, analysis shows
that they are taken into account by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
(ITLOS) whose jurisdiction concerns solely the interpretation and application of the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The same attention
is dedicated to ‘considerations of humanity’ in the jurisprudence of the arbitral tribunals established under Annex VII of UNCLOS.
1 The Origin and Development of ‘Considerations
of Humanity’ in International Law and Jurisprudence
Humanity is quite an ambiguous word because it can have different meanings. For
example, it could refer to the human being as part of a community or to a sense of
responsibility or concern for the problems and injustices of society, or to an important principle inserted into international treaties that can form a part of the sources
F. Delfino (*)
LUISS Guido Carli University, Department of Law, Rome, Italy
e-mail: fdelfino@luiss.it
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
A. Del Vecchio, R. Virzo (eds.), Interpretations of the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea by International Courts and Tribunals,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10773-4_21
‘Considerations of Humanity’
in the Jurisprudence of ITLOS
and UNCLOS Arbitral Tribunals
Francesca Delfino
Abstract This article observes that ‘considerations of humanity’ was previously a
notion pertaining exclusively to the field of international humanitarian law and
human rights law. Indeed, those branches are two bodies of international law that
are closely related to humanity. Notably, their main concern is the respect for and
the protection of human dignity which is one of the essential minimum standards of
humanity. Consequently, the leitmotiv of humanitarian law and human rights law is
a concern for ‘considerations of humanity’, which represent the foundation for the
protection of human rights. This article shows, however, that in recent years a new
trend has been developing, in accordance with which ‘considerations of humanity’
play an important role outside international human rights law and international
humanitarian law. Specifically, it has been demonstrated that there are also numerous references to ‘considerations of humanity’ in the jurisprudence of international
courts and tribunals that do not deal with human rights. In particular, analysis shows
that they are taken into account by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
(ITLOS) whose jurisdiction concerns solely the interpretation and application of the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The same attention
is dedicated to ‘considerations of humanity’ in the jurisprudence of the arbitral tribunals established under Annex VII of UNCLOS.
1 The Origin and Development of ‘Considerations
of Humanity’ in International Law and Jurisprudence
Humanity is quite an ambiguous word because it can have different meanings. For
example, it could refer to the human being as part of a community or to a sense of
responsibility or concern for the problems and injustices of society, or to an important principle inserted into international treaties that can form a part of the sources
F. Delfino (*)
LUISS Guido Carli University, Department of Law, Rome, Italy
e-mail: fdelfino@luiss.it