Comprehensive International Framework Research Articles

Power Shift, the South China Sea Dispute, and the Role of International Law

The arena of the law of the sea has become a battlefield for Sino-American legal warfare, commonly referred to as “lawfare,” and it is in the tumultuous waters of the South China Sea where this fierce contest of great powers rages. The divergent perspectives on international law, particularly regarding maritime law, between China and the United States stem from the countries’ distinct historical experiences, memories, and outlooks. This inherent disparity in epistemology shapes their comprehension of the fundamental tenets of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (“UNCLOS”), specifically the conflicting notions of mare clausum and mare liberum. Consequently, the universality of the law of the sea becomes compromised, tending towards a less comprehensive international framework. This article contends that any legal resolution to the South China Sea dispute must be scrutinized through the lens of balance-of-power considerations. It further proposes practical recommendations to enhance the clarity and efficacy of some of the UNCLOS institutions in response to the pressing demands of our time.

‘The Black Pit:’ Power and Pitfalls of Digital FDI and Cross-Border Data Flows

AbstractIn today's data-driven economy, data have been dubbed as the new oil. Hence, a close relationship is shared between the increasing amounts of international investments and the increasing volumes of cross-border data flows. The aim of this article is to discuss the legal aspects of the new data paradigm in the international economy and place this discussion in the larger framework of globalization and the Liberal International Order. The central thesis of the article revolves around the crucial role played by domestic laws in the fragmentation of international investment law. The article further discusses the interplay between national and international legal landscapes and how the changing nature of the Liberal International Order is affecting the flow of data across borders. In this context, it also discusses the issues that are presented by a lack of any comprehensive international framework governing Cross-Border Data Flows. The need to update existing agreements and laws in order to factor in digital investment is also highlighted.

Holding Transnational Corporations Accountable for Environmental Harm Through Counterclaims in Investor-State Dispute Settlement: Myth or Reality?

Abstract Considering the imperative need to protect our environment, the present article begins by highlighting the absence of a comprehensive international framework under which transnational corporations may be held accountable for environmental harm. Drawing from the successful decisions on environmental counterclaims in Perenco v Ecuador and Burlington Resources v Ecuador, this article thus argues that this legal void could be filled by holding transnational corporations accountable for environmental harm under international investment law. However, the practice of environmental counterclaims as they have materialised in these recent decisions emphasises the existence of a gap between theory and reality and, thus, their limited chances of success. It is nevertheless suggested that, in the context of current debates surrounding an investor-State dispute settlement reform, States hold the cards to ensure that transnational corporations are held accountable for environmental harm under international investment law.

A Consular Code to Supplement the vccr

Summary Consular relations have been recognized as an integral part of people-to-people contact ‘since ancient times’, as stated in the preamble to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the 1967 codification of existing practice in consular relations. This article questions whether the legal and policy framework reflected in the Convention remains relevant in the twenty-first century as the demand for consular services has grown. It describes how international law and practice have evolved since 1967 with respect to consular relations, and argues that the time is now ripe to promote a more comprehensive international framework to support consular relations, which could be incorporated into a Model Consular Code (‘the Code’), which would build on existing successful initiatives to address problems confronting consular clients. The article focuses on the range of services provided by consular officers for their citizens abroad, whether routine or complex.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 2354 & Comprehensive International Framework to Counter Terrorist Narratives

On May 24, 2017, the Security Council (Council) adopted Resolution 2354 on countering terrorist narratives, endorsing a proposal developed by its Counter-Terrorism Committee for a “Comprehensive international framework to counter terrorist narratives” (Comprehensive Framework). With this resolution, adopted unanimously by the Council and co-sponsored by close to sixty governments, the Council urged member states to implement the Framework in order to promote positive and credible alternatives to audiences receptive to extremist ideology.

The Evolving International Investment Law and Policy Regime: Ways Forward

International investment needs are tremendous. This requires that the international investment regime constitutes a framework for increased flows of sustainable foreign direct investment for sustainable development. The international investment regime covers what has become the single most important form of international economic transactions and the most powerful vector of integration among economies: foreign direct investment and non-equity forms of control by multinational enterprises over foreign production facilities. Among the most striking features of the global investment landscape over the past decade has been the rise of developing economies as outward investors. Yet despite the economic importance of international investment, there is no overarching set of rules governing this subject matter. Instead, the regime consists of over 3,000 international investment agreements, the great majority of them bilateral investment treaties. The present paper examines the state of the international investment law and policy regime and how its governance might be enhanced. Following a thorough analysis of the background to rule-making in international investment, the paper puts forward a set of policy options with the overall objective of increasing sustainable investment flows, particularly to developing and least developed countries, within the framework of a widely accepted international investment law and policy regime. The interrelated policy recommendations fall under five main categories: expanding the purpose and updating the substantive and procedural provisions of international investment agreements; developing an international support programme for sustainable investment facilitation; addressing the challenge of managing and resolving disputes, especially by further institutionalizing the investor-state dispute-mechanism which lies at the heart of the regime; complementing this effort by establishing an Advisory Centre on International Investment Law; and initiating a process towards the negotiation of a comprehensive international framework on investment that would establish basic rules of engagement among principal stakeholders. The paper ends with a recommendation on procedural issues, namely the launch of an informal and inclusive consensus-building process to accompany and help efforts geared at reforming the international investment regime for increased flows of sustainable foreign direct investment.

The Chemicals and Waste Regime as a Basis for a Comprehensive International Framework on Sustainable Management of Potentially Hazardous Materials?

Since the 1980s, the international legal framework governing the management of chemicals and wastes has developed in an ad hoc and piecemeal fashion. As the international community became aware of a problem, the response was to negotiate a treaty to address it. The 2013 Minamata Convention is the latest example. The result is an international legal framework that addresses some substances and some aspects of their management, leaving others unregulated. In today's globalized world, there is a need for a coherent and comprehensive legal framework that reflects the ‘life cycle’ or ‘circular economy’ approach to materials management. Taking into account previous efforts, including the 2006 Strategic Approach to Chemicals Management and the synergies process of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, and considering the approach adopted by the Minamata Convention to regulate the upstream as well as the downstream aspects of the substances it addresses, this article explores ways to achieve a comprehensive and coherent global legal framework on the management of potentially hazardous materials, concluding that the current chemicals and waste regime can serve as a basis for such a framework.