International Energy Law: An Emerging Academic Discipline

This chapter focuses on the relationship between international law and national energy law, and on how international and national law interacts in defining the total legal regime for energy activity, on the international and the national level. International energy law encompass public international law that regulates issues of relevance for energy production and distribution. The relationship or interface between international and national energy law is part of the more widely discussed question about the relationship between international law and national law. The chapter analyses the more general character of the relationship between international law and national law in regulating energy activity. The right of a state to exercise jurisdiction over its natural resources is regarded as a fundamental principle of international law. One important development in international law which has a great impact on energy production is the extension of coast state sovereignty and rights to natural resources in the sea areas outside the sea territory of states.

1.26 Energy Law and Emerging Legal Issues

The chapter defines ‘international energy law’ as an amalgam of different international obligations concerning energy activities—the exploration and exploitation of energy resources, their trade and transportation, and investment in the energy sector—as well as the effects of these activities on the environment and on human rights. It is thus not surprising that it accommodates bilateral obligations as well as obligations that protect community interests either of all states (erga omnes) or of groups of states (erga omnes partes). Furthermore, the role of community interest obligations in international energy law is not only relevant vis-à-vis the nature of obligations that fall within the field’s scope. Given the importance that states place on economic activities in the energy sector, international obligations, which reflect community interests, may be and often are enforced by energy-related measures.

Sociological analysis of international law begins from the premise that international legal rules and institutions are deeply embedded in the particular socio-cultural features of certain communities. Sociological factors and processes thus form an inseparable dimension of international law, and international law is both affected by and influences such factors and processes. Numerous international legal rules reflect and affect societal factors such as norms, socialization, identity, collective memories and social control. Existing sociological studies of international law essentially emphasize that socio-cultural factors are involved in two primary (and inter-related) dimensions of international law: behavior and knowledge. First, such factors influence the behavior of actors in the international legal system (e.g., via social norms). Second, sociological factors are involved in the production of collective knowledge shared by members of social groups (e.g., via collective memories regarding historical events) which also affect actors' legal behavior. Some eminent sociologists have relatively recently highlighted a third level of social behavior - the cognitive dimension. Cognitive sociology underscores that humans process information existing in our environment (e.g., filtering in/ out some items of information) also according to socio-cultural factors. Cognitive sociology literature generates significant insights regarding the link between socio-cognitive processes and international law; for example, with respect to the impact of culturally embedded categorizations on compliance with international treaties prohibiting racial or gender discrimination. The draft chapter is structured as follows: Section II exposes the central assumptions of the sociological perspective and introduces the core theoretical approaches in sociological literature. Section III discusses the sociological dimension of international law, highlighting the role of socio-cultural factors in three primary dimensions of international law relating to behavior, knowledge, and cognition. Here we also shed light on the broad contours of earlier scholarship on the sociology of international law. To illustrate the contribution of sociological theories to international legal scholarship, this section also briefly examines the question of the desirable structural design for international legal regimes from the three major sociological theoretical perspectives. Section IV observes some significant recent changes in international investment law and sketches out some thoughts regarding sociological factors that may explain this legal change; underlining the role of strains between values prevailing in the international community and the investment arbitration community, social movements, and social control mechanisms. Section V recaps the main conclusions drawn from the preceding sections.

The right to sustainable energy has emerged in recent decades as one of the new human rights; a right that has gained particular importance alongside the growing needs of societies for energy and the necessity of addressing environmental crises. Sustainable energy not only means access to renewable and clean resources but also encompasses a broader concept that includes social justice, sustainable development, and the protection of the rights of future generations. Within the framework of human rights, this right is closely linked to rights such as the right to development, the right to a healthy environment, and the right to an adequate standard of living, and it can be considered a dimension of third-generation human rights. On the other hand, international energy law, as a new branch of international law, provides an important framework for regulating the relations of states concerning the exploitation, transfer, and consumption of energy. Despite significant instruments such as the Energy Charter, the Paris Agreement, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, serious challenges remain, including the dominance of fossil fuels, economic barriers, and geopolitical rivalries, which hinder the full realization of this right. By analyzing the overlaps and conflicts between human rights and international energy law, this article demonstrates that the recognition and guarantee of the right to sustainable energy is not only a legal necessity but also a moral and global imperative. In conclusion, by emphasizing the importance of strengthening legal and supervisory frameworks, the necessity of active participation of developing countries in shaping the international legal regime of sustainable energy is highlighted.

In today’s world, energy is one of the fundamental industries and is essential for economic development, poverty eradication and adaptation to the effects of climate change. Access to sustainable energy sources (RES) is the foundation of modern sustainable energy, and international law has a key role to play in achieving such access. The aim of the study is a theoretical consideration and generalization of the positions of modern scientists within the framework of international energy law in terms of access to RES. The genesis of access to sustainable energy sources in the writings of scholars on international energy law originates from the work of Professor A. D. Bradbrook, who considers such access primarily through the prism of international human rights law and notes the paramount task of achieving universal access to RES in order to reduce poverty. R. D. Heffron formulated the access under study as one of the basic principles of international energy law, at the same time, the main place in the author’s works in this area is given to the concept of energy justice. S. Bruce noted the high importance of the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative, the International Renewable Energy Agency and Sustainable Development Goal No. 7 in achieving researched access, and also highlighted a number of international agreements as instruments of particular importance for access to RES.

The problematic nature of the conducted research lies in identifying the most important private legal aspects of international energy resource trade at the current stage of formation and development of international energy law, taking into account the specific economic conditions caused by the negative impact of politically motivated unilateral restrictive measures imposed by a number of collective West states on the global energy market. The article is devoted to identifying the features of the content and system of international private energy law, defining the signs and principles of international private law relations in the energy sector. The objective of the study is to comprehensively disclose the specific subject of international energy private law, which is energy resources that are the object of international purchase and sale, executed by foreign economic contracts. In order to determine the specific private law features of trade in energy resources in modern economic conditions, a formal legal method was applied, which made it possible to analyze Russian energy legislation and international agreements in the energy sector. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the impact of economic and political factors on the private law aspects of global energy trade was investigated. The empirical basis of the study was judicial and arbitration practice in private law disputes, foreign economic contracts, and statistical information. The further vectors of development of international private law regulation of energy relations have been predicted. It has been established that the main factor influencing the parties’ choice of terms of delivery in foreign economic energy contracts is the desire to minimize transportation costs of the corresponding goods while respecting the rights and interests of both parties, which emphasizes the private law nature of contractual regulation in the energy sector. It has been shown that under the conditions of unilateral restrictive measures applied by unfriendly states, Russian courts, when considering cases with a foreign element in the energy sector, a practice is consistently formed based on the methodologically correct application of the public policy clause based on the unfriendly status of the counterparty state in determining the applicable law, jurisdiction, as well as recognition and enforcement of foreign court decisions.

In order to prevent the deterioration of natural gas energy pollution, it is necessary to build a legal system of international cooperation, clarify the responsibility distribution system, and innovate the existing regulatory mode. We will introduce cooperative supervision and joint governance in traditional regulation and enhance global cooperation. The choice of this system is in line with the display demand of global energy and environmental pollution risk supervision, conforms with the trend of global cooperative governance, in line with the value concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, and has positive significance for the optimization and sound development of the system. However, at the present stage, the regional contradictions are prominent, the competition for energy is fierce, the lack of systematic international legal norms, the regulatory system has not been constructed and improved, and the rigid operation mechanism is not smooth. In the common vision of the global destiny of mankind, the collaborative innovation of international energy and environment law and domestic energy and environment law is legitimate, and the two goals are consistent. In view of this, the overall concept of legal construction of natural gas environmental pollution cooperation between international law and domestic law is emerging. Based on the holism thinking of the construction of gas environment pollution cooperation legal system, require countries to fulfill their duties and obligations under international law, and in the rule of law and the rule of law thinking reflect the international consensus, not only pay attention to establish and perfect the public regulations and private law relief synergy comprehensive legal mechanism, and based on energy and environmental protection of systematic, international to promote the construction of global gas environment pollution cooperation legal system.

International investment flows are rising firmly and rapidly on a daily basis throughout the world. In international investment flow energy plays a valuable role. The common point of international investment law regime and international energy law regime is, they remain many issues still to define and clarify in international investment law and energy law. In these undeveloped legal areas, the clarification of these basic issues has an essential role, as legal systems are established on the basis of clear terminology. While the significance of energy and energy-related issues in international investment law is mentioned above, there are still many blurred lines as to when “energy investments” in particular become relevant. In these situations, the limits of what may be considered an “energy investment” must be clarified. In order to explicitly explain references to “energy investments”, this article will firstly discuss the definition of international investments; secondly, the definition of energy will be analysed and then what is described as “an energy investment” will be thoroughly scrutinised. During these discussions, examples from other sectors’ investment disputes and other legal areas will also be examined and compared to provide more explicit answers as to the limits of the term.

College of Law, particularly its Dean and staff, are committed to ensuring that the institution provides a platform for constructive exchange of views on topical legal issues.It has been my pleasure since opening the first Barristers' Chambers in Qatar in 2008, and regularly being in Doha, to witness the law faculty embrace the opportunities presented to teachers and students alike by comparative law study.In addition to the faculty organising regular seminars and conferences on subjects of practical significance, such as international arbitration, energy law and environmental law, the Review provides a valuable opportunity for legal scholars from all over the world to share their understanding and experience.After all, it is only by studying different systems of law, (or engaging in practice which exposes one to different systems of law as I have been fortunate to benefit from), that one appreciates that all legal systems suffer from imperfections.The true test of any legal system is its ability to engage in critical and constructive self-assessment on a regular basis, as well as being receptive to well meaning input from others interested in promoting a strong legal system.A quick perusal of the contents list of International Review of Law reflects the success of Qatar University College of Law in establishing the position of this legal journal as a source of learning on a wide variety of issues.This Volume contains articles on civil disputes, specifically construction related mediation and claims involving maritime vessels (which developed in the ancient admiralty jurisdiction of the English Courts).There are articles on international law and regulation -in the realms of telecommunications privacy issues, and energy transmission.Corporate liability under the US Alien Tort Statute is examined in one article, and there are articles on medical law and ethics.One must not overlook the significance of Islamic law, and the vital need for greater scholarly endeavour in this regard.Shari'ah law is addressed in two separate articles concerning divorce and "end of life" medical treatment.I look forward to reading future volumes of International Review of Law, which I am sure will continue to address significant subjects and thereby contribute to legal learning and debate.

Volodymyr Mikhaylovich Koretsky was an eminent jurist, educator, organizer of academic legal scholarship, diplomat, Judge of the International Court of Justice, and its Vice-President. His entire life and professional activity stand as a testament to unwavering dedication to Ukraine and the advancement of legal science. Having received an outstanding university education in law, he commenced his career by teaching and conducting research on issues of civil law, and, following the Civil War, turned to the study of the methodology of legal science. During the 1920s and the first half of the 1930s, he combined scholarly and pedagogical pursuits with public service in republican state agencies. Concurrently, he engaged in robust research in the field of private international law. In the 1930s, he took an active role in establishing higher legal education in Kharkiv, serving as Vice-Rector and Head of the Law Faculty while concurrently fulfilling professorial responsibilities. He chaired the Department of the History of State and Law at the Kharkiv Juridical Institute and, in 1939, defended his doctoral dissertation on the distinctive features of Anglo-American doctrine and international law. Following the attainment of his doctoral degree, all subsequent research by the scholar remained inextricably tied to the development of theories in private international law, international economic law, and public international law. After V. M. Koretsky was elected an Academician, he entered his Kyiv period. He founded the Institute of State and Law and the Department of International Law and Comparative Jurisprudence. Under his leadership, the institute was transformed from a modest research sector into a leading, advanced academic institution. During the 1950s and 1960s, V. M. Koretsky simultaneously engaged in scientific, organizational, and teaching activities alongside diplomatic service: he participated in three sessions of the United Nations General Assembly, served as an advisor to the representative of the USSR to the UN Security Council, worked on the UN Committee on the Progressive Development and Codification of International Law, the UN Commission on Human Rights, and the UN International Law Commission, and contributed as a co-drafter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He took part in numerous forums held under the auspices of the UN. The pinnacle of Koretsky’s diplomatic endeavors was his election as a member of the International Court of Justice in The Hague (1960–1970) and his tenure as Vice-President of that Court (1968–1970). In the 1960s and 1970s, V. M. Koretsky’s scholarly work focused on the study of sovereignty, the international legal personality of republics, and the establishment of a stable international legal order based on principles of peace, security, and stability. He was actively engaged in public affairs in Ukraine, promoting the achievements of domestic legal scholarship abroad. His academic and diplomatic endeavors were duly recognized both nationally and internationally. He received the highest honors of the union and republican governments, was elected a member of numerous foreign academies and international associations, and his name was memorialized in the institute he founded, as well as through the posthumous publication of selected works. Key words: Koretsky, legal scholarship, researcher and theorist, doctrine, private international law, international civil law, international economic law, public international law, diplomat, Judge of the International Court of Justice.

Contents: PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. Internationalisation of Energy Law Kim Talus 2. Institutional Actors in International Energy Law Sijbren de Jong and Jan Wouters 3. Interface Between National and International Energy Law Stephan W. Schill PART II: INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INVESTMENTS 4. Multilateral and Bilateral Energy Investment Treaties: Do We Need a Global Solution? Energy Charter Treaty as Objective Result of Evolution of the International Energy Markets and Instruments of Investment Protection and Stimulation Andrey A. Konoplyanik 5. In Search of Investment Stability Peter Cameron 6. World Petroleum Regimes Mohd Naseem and Saman Naseem 7. Energy and International Boundaries Tim Martin PART III: INTERNATIONAL DISPUTE SETTLEMENT AND ENERGY 8. International Arbitration and Energy: How Energy Disputes Shaped International Dispute Resolution Anibal Sabater and Mark Stadnyk 9. Recent Trends in Energy Disputes Kaj Hober 10. The Role of the Court of Justice of European Union in the Energy Market Liberalization Sirja-Leena Penttinen PART IV: INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ENERGY 11. The WTO Agreements and Energy Yulia Selivanova 12. The International Legal Instruments for Cross-border Pipelines Ishrak Ahmed Siddiky 13. Contractual Issues in International Gas Trade: LNG - the Key to the Golden Age of Gas Peter Roberts and Ruchdi Maalouf PART V: INTERNATIONAL POVERTY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND ENERGY 14. Policy, Law, and the Actualization of the Right of Access to Energy Services Yinka Omorogbe 15. Renewable Energy for Food and Water Security Projects in Dry-Land Countries: Towards a Model Legal Framework for the Qatar National Food Security Programme Rudiger P. Tscherning PART VI: ENERGY AND SUSTAINABILITY 16. Promotion of Renewable Electricity: Free Trade and Domestic Industrial Development Anton Ming-Zhi Gao 17. EU Energy Efficiency Regulation and Governance: Lessons for the US? Lynne Holt and Mary Galligan PART VII: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL ENERGY LAW 18. Corruption and the Energy Sector: Inevitable Bedfellows? Lucinda A. Low and Richard J. Battaglia 19. Transparency and International Energy Tonje Pareli Gormley 20. The Regulation of Oil Spills from Offshore Installations Alex Wawryk 21. Transit: The EU Energy Acquis and the Energy Charter Treaty Katja Yafimava 22. International Energy Law, Institutions and Geopolitics Andrei V. Belyi Index

This article is the introduction to the book 'Invitation to the Sociology of International Law' (OUP, 2015). International law is deeply embedded in various sociological factors and processes. Numerous international legal rules reflect and affect societal factors and processes such as norms, socialization, identity, and collective memory. Political and economic dimensions of international law are overlain with a sociological dimension, but this study focuses on the sociological dimension of international law. While the idea that international law and other societal processes are profoundly interlinked is not new, international legal literature habitually pays only scant attention to socio-cultural aspects of international law. In light of the underlying interrelationships between international law and other social factors, the book invites international law specialists to analyse international legal rules in their wider social context, and incorporate sociological tools into mainstream international law scholarship.The book aims to introduce readers to some key sociological elements and major theoretical approaches, and illustrates their valuable contribution to international legal scholarship. To exemplify the properties of the sociological analysis, the book employs sociological tools to explore diverse topics in contemporary international law, including the World Trade Organization's (WTO) rules regulating regional trade agreements; legal fragmentation and the interaction between international investment law and human rights law; impartiality of adjudicators; compliance with and breach of international law; and the European Union's rules concerning economic and monetary cooperation.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered energy and food crises, driven by demand for natural gas as fuel and fertilizer feedstock. By adopting a recent framework for analysing the diverse ways in which international law regulates energy transactions, I extend the category of end-use energy products to include food for human consumption, given the economic importance of dietary energy and the entangled agendas of energy and food security. To highlight the intermediate roles played by international law in securing resources for conversion into dietary energy, I show how rules allocating entitlements over fossil fuels were inherited from an earlier generation of international disputes over fertilizer resources, including the taxation of nitrate exports, alien entitlements to guano discoveries, and the well-known confiscation of a factory at Chorzów. Many of these disputes between States and commercial actors prefigured the reliance of the modern energy industry on investment arbitration and retain currency in case law. Yet, the fertilizer trade also informed the development of offshore resource entitlements, the local regulation of global externalities, and the belated recognition of the rights of peoples over natural resources. Despite this normative evolution, dispute settlement in the energy sector is still driven by States and commercial actors, although the underlying transactions may have profound implications for food security. By reframing food as energy and integrating fertilizer disputes into a long history of international energy law, the anticipated transition from fossil fuels towards green hydrogen as a dual-use fuel and fertilizer feedstock may generate familiar sites of distributive conflict over resources for the production of dietary energy, calling for closer attention to whether food security may be enhanced by the entitlements of collective subjects (food sovereignty), individuals (right to food), corporations (investment protection), and States (economic regulation).

Electricity from the Desert" deals with a current topic: a cross-border cooperation for green electricity sup-ply locally as well as in the EU and the related international law aspects of investment protection and world trade law. The author looks at the preconditions in the EU and the states of Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria and then goes into the regulations of bilateral investment protection treaties and the Energy Charter Treaty. A further chapter contains an analysis of international trade law provisions and case law on green power trade. The interface(s) between international law, energy law and European law are numerous and, due to the dynamic development of the law, must always be considered anew.