This is a past event
Speaker: Dr Constantinos Yiallourides (British Institute of International and Comparative Law)
Admission FREE, no booking required.
Abstract: Border disputes are nearly all across the globe. At least 124 States (or ‘would-be’ States) are involved in a territorial dispute of some kind, involving approximately 105 separate territories (continental or island). And, this picture would not be complete without mention of the 400 bilateral maritime boundaries, of which only about 50% have been delimited by legal agreements.
Disputes over territory, be it land or maritime, have not prevented some States from pursuing their natural resource potentials by means of designating blocks intended for petroleum licensing and also by carrying out full-scale resource-related operations (including petroleumexploration and exploitation) in areas that are also claimed by another State or States. The conduct of this type of activities within disputed areas has proven to be an important catalyst in setting in motion a spiral of action and reaction between neighbouring States as they seek to preserve their perceived sovereignty or sovereign rights and national interests in the areas in question. Due to the susceptibility of such disputes to escalation or even armed conflict between States, perhaps more than any other type of inter-State dispute, it is of greater importance to examine the primary and procedural legal obligations incumbent upon States when acting in contested areas and the kind of actions that are legally permissible, or impermissible, within these areas.
Against this background, the presentation examines the legality of unilateral State actions within, or in respect of, disputed land and maritime areas with emphasis on unilateral petroleumactivities, that is to say, activities which are not covered by the provisions of any applicable provisional arrangements between the parties concerned. The discussion seeks to clarify the interplay between the legal obligations of States under the law of the territory and the law of the sea and the consequences deriving from breaches of those obligations, informed by the law and practice of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and other international law tribunals, such as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). The discussion will also ascertain how States can react meaningfully to unilateral activities by other States in the contested areas as well as the potential consequences of failure to react in good time.
Authors bio: Dr Constantinos Yiallourides is the Arthur Watts Research Fellow in Public International Law at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL). His research and teaching expertise spans a number of international law fields with a particular focus on the law of the sea, environmental and natural resources law. His current research focuses primarily on the use of force in relation to sovereignty disputes over land territory and the rules of international law applicable in disputed land and maritime areas. He has published widely on these areas and has assisted governments, international organisations, and other entities on matters of international law. Constantinos is also a Teaching Associate at the University of Aberdeen where he teaches law of the sea, oil and gas law, theory of regulation and critical legal skills. He is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL) and an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK).
- Speaker
- Dr Constantinos Yiallourides
- Hosted by
- Aberdeen Centre for Energy Law
- Venue
- Taylor Building C11
- Contact
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Dr Daria Shapovalova
Lecturer, School of Law
Tel: +44 (0) 1224 272430
Email: dshapovalova@abdn.ac.uk