As pointed out by Patricia Birnie, Alan Boyle and Catherine Redgwell in their
book on “International Law and the Environment”, the term “governance” when
applied to the United Nations and its agencies implies rather less than global
government, a task for which no international organization is equipped, but more
the power to determine policy or initiate the process of international law-making. At
the very least, it captures the idea of a community of States with responsibility for
addressing common problems through a variety of political processes which are
inclusive in character, and which to some degree embody a limited sense of
collective interest, distinct in specific cases from the particular interests of individual
States.
2
In our days, conservation and sustainable use of many of ocean resources should
be viewed as a matter of common concern. As noted by Birnie, Boyle and Redgwell,
the concept of “common concern” implies that international community of States as
a whole has a legitimate interest in such resources of global significance. It follows
from the above that the international community of States has a common responsibility to ensure conservation and sustainable use of these resources and that individual States have legal obligation vis-a-vis the whole international community of
States regarding the conservation and sustainable use of these resources and that
such obligation can be enforced by or on behalf of that community of States.
3
The VIIth Colloquium of the AssIDMer presented an excellent opportunity to
look in detail at some of the global challenges that we face today in ocean governance. The presentations made at the Colloquium included in the present volume
constitute a reach overview of recent developments in various areas of ocean affairs
and provide their thorough analyses. They address the role of the international
organizations in the implementation and development of the law of the sea (Part I)
and the issue of protection and conservation of the areas beyond national jurisdiction
(Part III).
As to “superpowers, international courts and the law of the sea”, an issue
addressed in Part II of this volume, it was highlighted in one of my recent publications on the subject that judicial institutions constitute an integral element of this
governance process by providing authoritative guidance on what the law of the sea is
and by fostering the progressive development of international law. In this context, it
is crucial that international courts and tribunals continue to offer to States an efficient
and fair administration of justice that facilitates the peaceful and sustainable resolution of conflicts.
At the same time, there is the issue of use of international judicial proceedings by
States for political purposes. It is important to recognize that such cases can place
international courts and tribunals in a difficult position. The function of international
judicial bodies is to assist the parties in the peaceful settlement of their disputes, not
to aggravate disputes. Faced with politically motivated requests, it is incumbent
2 P. Birnie, A. Boyle, C. Redgwell (2009) International Law and the Environment. Third Edition,
Oxford University Press, pp. 152-154.
3 Id., pp. 203-204.
Foreword
vii
book on “International Law and the Environment”, the term “governance” when
applied to the United Nations and its agencies implies rather less than global
government, a task for which no international organization is equipped, but more
the power to determine policy or initiate the process of international law-making. At
the very least, it captures the idea of a community of States with responsibility for
addressing common problems through a variety of political processes which are
inclusive in character, and which to some degree embody a limited sense of
collective interest, distinct in specific cases from the particular interests of individual
States.
2
In our days, conservation and sustainable use of many of ocean resources should
be viewed as a matter of common concern. As noted by Birnie, Boyle and Redgwell,
the concept of “common concern” implies that international community of States as
a whole has a legitimate interest in such resources of global significance. It follows
from the above that the international community of States has a common responsibility to ensure conservation and sustainable use of these resources and that individual States have legal obligation vis-a-vis the whole international community of
States regarding the conservation and sustainable use of these resources and that
such obligation can be enforced by or on behalf of that community of States.
3
The VIIth Colloquium of the AssIDMer presented an excellent opportunity to
look in detail at some of the global challenges that we face today in ocean governance. The presentations made at the Colloquium included in the present volume
constitute a reach overview of recent developments in various areas of ocean affairs
and provide their thorough analyses. They address the role of the international
organizations in the implementation and development of the law of the sea (Part I)
and the issue of protection and conservation of the areas beyond national jurisdiction
(Part III).
As to “superpowers, international courts and the law of the sea”, an issue
addressed in Part II of this volume, it was highlighted in one of my recent publications on the subject that judicial institutions constitute an integral element of this
governance process by providing authoritative guidance on what the law of the sea is
and by fostering the progressive development of international law. In this context, it
is crucial that international courts and tribunals continue to offer to States an efficient
and fair administration of justice that facilitates the peaceful and sustainable resolution of conflicts.
At the same time, there is the issue of use of international judicial proceedings by
States for political purposes. It is important to recognize that such cases can place
international courts and tribunals in a difficult position. The function of international
judicial bodies is to assist the parties in the peaceful settlement of their disputes, not
to aggravate disputes. Faced with politically motivated requests, it is incumbent
2 P. Birnie, A. Boyle, C. Redgwell (2009) International Law and the Environment. Third Edition,
Oxford University Press, pp. 152-154.
3 Id., pp. 203-204.
Foreword
vii