Resolving Disputes Over the South China Sea Under the Compulsory Dispute Settlement System of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
Soochow Law Journal, Vol. 14, pp. 119-145, 2017
15 Pages Posted: 1 May 2016 Last revised: 17 Nov 2017
Date Written: April 10, 2016
Abstract
This paper discusses the potential of engaging the compulsory dispute settlement system of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in order to resolve disputes over the South China Sea. It does so both in general, but also specifically against the background of the Jurisdiction and Admissibility Award of an Annex VII Arbitral Tribunal in the arbitration initiated by the Philippines against the People's Republic of China. The paper discusses in particular the trend in seeking to shoehorn disputes into existing compromissory clauses in order to establish the jurisdiction of a court of tribunal, as well particular issues of jurisdiction and admissibility that may (and do) arise in South China Sea disputes being brought under Part XV of the UN Convention.
Keywords: law of the sea, UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, dispute settlement, maritime delimitation, South China Sea, jurisdiction, admissibility
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