Implications of the Chagos Marine Protected Area Arbitral Tribunal Award for the Balance Between Natural Environmental Protection and Traditional Maritime Freedoms

Abstract

This paper will examine the implications of the Chagos Marine Protected Area (MPA) Arbitral Tribunal Award in terms of its contribution to international environmental law in general, before considering its specific implications for the future designation of marine protected areas (MPAs). The outline of this paper is as follows: First, the Chagos MPA Award will be assessed in terms of its implications for the designation of the dispute between Mauritius and the UK as ‘environmental’ for the purpose of triggering the compulsory and binding dispute settlement provisions of the 1982 UNCLOS; and second, the Tribunal’s interpretation and application of relevant UNCLOS provisions prescribing consultations between interested States over any MPA designation will be considered specifically in light of other proposed MPA designations, for example, around the Pitcairn islands in the South Pacific.