The South China Sea Arbitration

The South China Sea Arbitration, which marks the first time that the Philippines and China have been parties to a compulsory dispute settlement procedure, is a landmark legal case. The South China Sea Arbitration, which marks the first time that the Philippines and China have been parties to a compulsory dispute settlement procedure, is a landmark legal case. The Tribunal tackled head-on critical issues in the interpretation and application of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea that other international courts have failed to address, particularly the compatibility of historic rights with the Convention, the identification of maritime features as permanently submerged or above water at high-tide, and the distinction between features that are fully entitled to maritime zones and those that are not. In addition, the Tribunal also had to decide on issues as diverse as near-collisions at sea, illegal fishing of giant clams and sea turtles, and the destruction of fragile coral reefs resulting from island-building. The Tribunals task was rendered arduous by Chinas refusal to appear before it. In these circumstances, understanding the Tribunals decisions is a challenging undertaking. Chinas public relations campaign targeting the proceedings raised issues that the layperson could readily grasp, notably African states support for its non-appearance, the integrity of the judges, and the validity of arbitral awards. Understanding the Awards and Debating with China aims to facilitate understanding of the South China Sea Arbitration by presenting detailed summaries of the two Arbitral Awards. The author rebuts the questionable claims raised by Chinas public relations campaign and highlights Chinas covert actions during the proceedings.

Beyond the scope of the dispute settlement between the Philippines and China, the South China Sea arbitral award can be thought to significantly influence the development of international law and the law of the sea. Accordingly, this book seeks to examine the South China Sea arbitration from the perspective of the development of public international law and its limitations. Specifically it addresses the issues of jurisdiction of the Annex VII Arbitral Tribunal, the historic rights, the legal status of maritime features, the lawfulness of various activities of China, and the role of the South China Sea arbitration in the international dispute settlement. In considering these issues, this book examines the South China Sea arbitration in three respects: (i) the clarification of relevant rules and obligations under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as well as international law, (ii) the protection of community interests at sea, and (iii) considerations of time elements in international law.This title is included in Bloomsbury Professional's International Arbitration online service.