Legal Implications of Obligations Erga Omnes and the Relevance on Enforcing Marine Endangered Species Protection under the 1982 UN Law of the Sea Convention

Abstract

It is well-recognized in literature that developments stemming from the 1972 UN Conference on Human Environment (UNCHE), and subsequently the 1992 Rio Earth Summit significantly trans-formed and strengthened the regulatory framework of international environmental law. One major aspect among these developments is the recognition that community of States must undertake common legal responsibility to protect common environment such as the prevention of marine pollution and protecting endangered species. Despite such positive progression in international environmental law, it is nonetheless a well-recognized deficiency that traditional international law does not provide a legal basis for an individual State to take enforcement measures for protecting the environment beyond its national jurisdiction. As regards the problem concerning the legal basis for individual States to take unilateral enforcement measures pursuant to common environment protection such as marine endangered species protection, this article analyses and articulates the significance of the highly controversial concept of obligations erga omnes implied by the International Court of Justice in the Barcelona Traction case. This article then extends the analysis of those legal implications and elaborates how those legal implications relate to the enforcement of obligations for marine endangered species protection under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Finally, this article concludes that, in terms of unilateral enforcement of marine endangered species protection under the 1982 UNCLOS, legal implications of obligations erga omnes have provided substantial progressions in this regard. As Taiwan becomes more aware of the importance of enforcing the protection of marine environment, those progression suggested by this article should not be overlooked.