be able to actively involve members of the ILC in the work on this topic. It is to be
recalled that the ILC has used this method successfully in the past, a relevant
example being the Study Group on the Fragmentation of International Law
(2002–2006), as it was just mentioned. The work of the Study Group will be
based on the practice of States, international treaties, other international instruments,
judicial decisions of international and national courts and tribunals, and the analyses
of scholars—all these in a systemic and integrative approach.
6 The Topic Satisfies the International Law Commission
Requirements for Selection of a New Topic
In order to select new topics for inclusion in its programme of work, the ILC is
guided by the criteria that it had agreed upon at its fiftieth session (1998), namely that
the topic: (a) should reflect the needs of States in respect of the progressive
development and codification of international law; (b) should be at a sufficiently
advanced stage in terms of State practice to permit progressive development and
codification; (c) should be concrete and feasible for progressive development and
codification; and (d) that the ILC should not restrict itself to traditional topics, but
could also consider those that reflect new developments in international law and
pressing concerns of the international community as a whole.
The topic “Sea-Level Rise in relation to International Law” reflects the needs of
States: more than a third of the existing States of the international community are
likely to be directly affected by the sea-level rise and are keenly interested in this
topic. Moreover, there may be broader impacts to the international community at
large, since another large number of States are likely to be indirectly affected by
sea-level rise (for instance, by the displacement of people, the lack of access to
resources). Sea-level rise has become a global phenomenon, and thus creates global
problems, impacting in general on the international community of States as a whole.
This interest is shared by a variety of States, from very different geographic
locations, including landlocked countries, which shows the amplitude of the States’
interest.
There is an emerging State practice—namely with regard to issues related to the
law of the sea (such as maintaining baselines, construction of artificial islands, and
coastal fortifications) and the protection of persons affected by sea-level rise (such as
the relocation of local communities within the country or to other countries, and the
creation of humanitarian visa categories). In addition, relevant practice exists, inter
alia, in relation to governments in exile as examples of maintaining statehood in
absence of control over territory. The consequences of sea-level rise, which may be
defined as affecting the very existence of a number of the States concerned, and, in
any case, essential parameters of statehood like territory, population and governance
as well as the enjoyment of the essential resources for the prosperity of these nations,
call for an early analysis of its legal implications.
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P. G. Teles
recalled that the ILC has used this method successfully in the past, a relevant
example being the Study Group on the Fragmentation of International Law
(2002–2006), as it was just mentioned. The work of the Study Group will be
based on the practice of States, international treaties, other international instruments,
judicial decisions of international and national courts and tribunals, and the analyses
of scholars—all these in a systemic and integrative approach.
6 The Topic Satisfies the International Law Commission
Requirements for Selection of a New Topic
In order to select new topics for inclusion in its programme of work, the ILC is
guided by the criteria that it had agreed upon at its fiftieth session (1998), namely that
the topic: (a) should reflect the needs of States in respect of the progressive
development and codification of international law; (b) should be at a sufficiently
advanced stage in terms of State practice to permit progressive development and
codification; (c) should be concrete and feasible for progressive development and
codification; and (d) that the ILC should not restrict itself to traditional topics, but
could also consider those that reflect new developments in international law and
pressing concerns of the international community as a whole.
The topic “Sea-Level Rise in relation to International Law” reflects the needs of
States: more than a third of the existing States of the international community are
likely to be directly affected by the sea-level rise and are keenly interested in this
topic. Moreover, there may be broader impacts to the international community at
large, since another large number of States are likely to be indirectly affected by
sea-level rise (for instance, by the displacement of people, the lack of access to
resources). Sea-level rise has become a global phenomenon, and thus creates global
problems, impacting in general on the international community of States as a whole.
This interest is shared by a variety of States, from very different geographic
locations, including landlocked countries, which shows the amplitude of the States’
interest.
There is an emerging State practice—namely with regard to issues related to the
law of the sea (such as maintaining baselines, construction of artificial islands, and
coastal fortifications) and the protection of persons affected by sea-level rise (such as
the relocation of local communities within the country or to other countries, and the
creation of humanitarian visa categories). In addition, relevant practice exists, inter
alia, in relation to governments in exile as examples of maintaining statehood in
absence of control over territory. The consequences of sea-level rise, which may be
defined as affecting the very existence of a number of the States concerned, and, in
any case, essential parameters of statehood like territory, population and governance
as well as the enjoyment of the essential resources for the prosperity of these nations,
call for an early analysis of its legal implications.
154
P. G. Teles