Principle Of Equitable Utilization Research Articles

The Relationship between the Principle of Equitable Utilization and no Harm Principle in the Law of International Rivers (Priority or Integration)

The Relationship between the Principle of Equitable Utilization and no Harm Principle in the Law of International Rivers (Priority or Integration)

「国際水路の非航行的利用に関する条約」の発効と衡平利用原則

「国際水路の非航行的利用に関する条約」の発効と衡平利用原則

The Primacy of the Principle of Equitable Utilization in the 1997 Watercourses Convention

SummaryThe International Law Commission wrestled for over a decade with the relationship between the principle of equitable utilization and the no harm principle in its work on the law of the non-navigational uses of international watercourses. In its final Report to the UN General Assembly on this topic in 1994, the Commission presented a set of Draft Articles couched in obscure language that reflected the sharp differences of opinion on the matter and the compromises that had been made. This division of opinion about the relationship between these two principles persisted in the Working Group of the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly to which the Draft Articles were referred. Again, compromises were reached and the language of the substantive articles (in particular Articles 5, 7, 20, and 21) of the Watercourses Convention, adopted by the General Assembly on May 21, 1997, continues to be obscure and its meaning debatable.It is argued here that in this Convention the principle of equitable utilization, which prescribes the reasonable and equitable sharing of the beneficial uses of the waters of an international watercourse, is made the primary substantive rule of international water law; harm caused by a utilization of these waters is, of course, an important factor to be taken into account in determining whether, in a particular case, the utilization is reasonable and equitable and, therefore, lawful. This interpretation of the Watercourses Convention brings it into harmony with customary international water law. It is an interpretation that finds support in the recent decision of the International Court of fustice in the Gabákovo case.

Reducing conflict over the Danube waters: equitable utilization and sustainable development

This paper develops the idea that the principle of equitable utilization must be applied in concert with sustainable water use not only in the resolution of specific disputes but in the cooperative management of water resources in general. It illustrates this point with two different cases involving the use of the Danube River. The first is the conflict over the Gabcikovo Nagymaros Dam, which now rests before the International Court of Justice. The author argues that a narrow legal ruling that fails to take into account broader issues of equitable utilization as they relate to sustainable development will not satisfactorily address the long‐term questions at stake between the parties. The second involves the situation in the Danube Delta where the potential for conflict exists, but may be minimized through the convention and institutional framework developed to address the environmental degradation and pollution of the Danube River basin, which is based in part on the principle of equitable utilization and the goal of achieving more sustainable water use. The paper provides a brief overview of the geographical features of the Danube River and international water law. It then explores the principle of equitable utilization and sustainable water use in light of the two cases and discusses the implications for the resolution and management of conflicts involving internationally shared water courses.

The Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses ' The International Law Commission Completes its Draft

The purpose of the present study is to briefly introduce the final (1994) Draft Articles of the International Law Commission (hereinafter ILC) on The Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (hereinafter Draft Articles or 1994 Draft) and to analyse some of the more important and interesting provisions. It is not the intention to discuss basic theories relating to the management of international watercourses, on which numerous studies are already available. Nevertheless, the Draft Articles incorporate two fundamental principles of the law relating to watercourses, viz. the principle of equitable utilization and the no-harm rule, which will be treated at rather greater length because of their importance as well as certain ambiguities in the Draft Articles relating to them.