WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE COMPULSORY PROCEDURES IN THE DISPUTE SETTLEMENT SYSTEM UNDER PART XV UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF THE SEA 1982 (UNCLOS) FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT; AS ILLUSTRATED THROUGH THEIR APPLICATION IN THE CHAGOS MARINE PROTECTED AREA ARBITRATION?

Abstract

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982(UNCLOS) is the widest ranging international agreement relating to issues of the law of the sea. This research seeks to evaluate the compulsory dispute resolution framework under the Convention. In particular, it will focus on the Chagos Archipelago Arbitration in which the UK was found to have breached the rights of Mauritius within the Chagos Archipelago in its establishment of a Marine Protected Area (MPA). This arbitration and subsequent advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice is used to illustrate some of the strengths and weaknesses of mandatory dispute settlement under the Convention as well as illustrate the ways in which the Arbitral Tribunal in the Chagos Archipelago Arbitration advanced the understanding and interpretation of various provisions of the Convention. The research will also make some conclusions about the impact of the Chagos Archipelago Arbitration on the protection and preservation of the marine environment under Part XII UNCLOS. One particular outcome of the Chagos Archipelago case is to highlight the need for coastal States to make certain they take account of all interests in an area of territory before unilaterally declaring an MPA, particularly in the light of the increasing impact of the marine environment of human activity and the risks this presents for its protection.