Opinion 1/17 and the Future of Investment Dispute Settlement: Implications for the Design of a Multilateral Investment Court

In today's increasingly interdependent global society, international institutions formerly committed to operating as insular systems recognizing only states as legitimate participants have come under pressure to open their processes to public view and participation. The World Trade Organization (WTO) in particular has been widely criticized for its lack of transparency and democratic participation. Nowhere has this criticism been more prevalent than in the arena of dispute settlement. The controversy over the acceptance of amicus briefs at the WTO reflects the tensions among WTO members and non-members concerning greater public access to dispute settlement proceedings. This battle has been fought primarily through the Appellate Body and its important series of decisions on amicus briefs.

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Dispute settlement under the United Nations Convention On the Law of the Sea and Its Role in Oceans Governance

10.26686/wgtn.16945630 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Anshuman Chakraborty

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

Dispute Settlement ◽

Law Of The Sea ◽

Traditional Role ◽

Actual Role ◽

The Future ◽

United Nations Convention ◽

The Law ◽

Dispute Settlement Mechanisms

<p>This thesis is about the dispute settlement provisions of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC or Convention), and the potential and actual role that they play in oceans governance. The study focuses not only on the traditional role of dispute settlement mechanisms in peacefully settling disputes, but also on their potential for contribution to good oceans governance in many ways. The jurisprudence generated so far under the dispute settlement provisions of the LOSC can be called neither a complete success nor a total failure. Part XV of the Convention, dealing with dispute settlement procedures, has made a promising start with the inaugural jurisprudence under the prompt release and provisional measures proceedings. However, besides the general beneficial influence of the jurisprudence on oceans governance, a few detrimental developments have also been identified from the perspective of oceans governance. The present thesis demonstrates that a lot of hope had been pinned on the dispute settlement provisions at the time when the LOSC was drafted. However, most of these hopes have not yet found expression, and if the limited use of dispute settlement procedures continues, it is unlikely that Part XV will fulfil those hopes in the future. Nevertheless, this thesis argues along more optimistic lines, and expresses a realistic hope that the actual role of dispute settlement in oceans governance will improve in the future. The thesis concludes that the success or failure of the dispute settlement mechanisms mostly depends upon their actual use made by states. Further, the dispute settlement mechanisms once invoked must be able to settle disputes objectively on the basis of law, equity and justice and uphold the principles and provisions of the LOSC. It is hoped that states will have recourse to Part XV more often for the purpose of settling their disputes peacefully, and that the dispute settlement provisions will in turn fulfil their mandate. Only then will the world witness the dispute settlement mechanisms playing a real and beneficial role in oceans governance, concurrently with other oceans governance institutions and arrangements.</p>

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The Paradoxical Success of UNCLOS Part XV: A Half-hearted Reply to Rosemary Rayfuse

Victoria University of Wellington Law Review ◽

10.26686/vuwlr.v36i4.5627 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 36 (4) ◽

pp. 713 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Andrew Serdy

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

Dispute Resolution ◽

Dispute Settlement ◽

Law Of The Sea ◽

The Future ◽

United Nations Convention ◽

The United Nations ◽

The Law

In his reply to Rosemary Rayfuse's article, "The Future of Compulsory Dispute Settlement under the Law of the Sea Convention", Andrew Serdy addresses some of the criticisms that have been levelled at the Part XV dispute resolution provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). He concludes that despite being little used, the Part XV provisions remain pivotal to UNCLOS and its related treaties, and if anything are becoming more so

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Introduction

10.1093/oso/9780198787822.003.0001 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Irina Buga

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

Final Section ◽

Systematic Approach ◽

Dispute Settlement ◽

The Future ◽

Practical Level

This chapter introduces the discussion of the key role of subsequent practice in the process of treaty adaptation and the formation of international law more generally. The chapter explains the need to explore the treaty modifying potential of subsequent practice—a topic that has, in recent years, generated an increasing amount of attention—and its potentially far-reaching effects for States and dispute settlement bodies alike. The chapter also defines treaty ‘modification’ in this context. The final section sets out the book's systematic approach to exploring the relevance and dynamism of the process of treaty modification by subsequent practice and showing—on a theoretical and practical level—how it can be identified and dealt with more consistently in the future.

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