Here we publish news and analysis by Fietta’s lawyers on recent developments in public international law and investment treaty arbitration. You can also follow our ‘PIL Latest’ alerts via the firm’s LinkedIn page. Should you wish to discuss any of these developments, please contact Stephen Fietta on +44(0)203 889 9801 or Oonagh Sands on +44(0)203 889 9793 in the first instance.
Contracting Parties approve amendments to the Energy Charter Treaty
On 3 December 2024, the Energy Charter Conference adopted and approved the amendments to the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”), commonly referred to as the “Modernised ECT”. The Modernised ECT provides for substantive and procedural changes that will impact foreign direct investment and investor-State dispute settlement. Right to regulate: The Modernised ECT reinforces the Contracting Parties’ commitment to environmental protection and explicitly acknowledges their right to regulate. A new Article 19 bis outlines a general commitment by Contracting Parties to honour their obligations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. Definition of protected investors: Entities must...
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The UK and Mauritius reach political agreement on the Chagos Archipelago
On 3 October 2024, following two years of negotiations and judicial proceedings in various fora, the United Kingdom (the “UK”) and the Republic of Mauritius (“Mauritius”) jointly announced that they had reached a political agreement on the exercise of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago. The agreement is subject to finalisation of a treaty and supporting legal instruments, which both States have committed to complete as soon as possible. The Chagos Archipelago consists of a number of coral atolls and islands in the Indian Ocean, with Diego Garcia being the largest island. Between 1814 and 1965, the UK administered the Chagos...
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ITLOS delivers unanimous advisory opinion on obligations of UNCLOS Parties to confront climate change
On 21 May 2024, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (the “ITLOS”) delivered its advisory opinion on the obligations of State Parties to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (“UNCLOS” or the “Convention”) concerning climate change. The opinion addressed two interconnected questions: (a) the specific obligations of UNCLOS Parties to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment caused by greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions; and (b) the specific obligations of UNCLOS Parties to protect and preserve the marine environment in relation to climate change impacts, including ocean warming, sea level rise, and ocean acidification. On the first question, in...
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ICJ rules on delimitation of the continental shelf between Nicaragua and Colombia
On 13 July 2023, the International Court of Justice (the “ICJ” or the “Court”) issued its judgment in the case concerning Question of the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf between Nicaragua and Colombia beyond 200 nautical miles from the Nicaraguan Coast (Nicaragua v. Colombia), instituted by Nicaragua against Colombia on 16 September 2013. Nicaragua requested the Court to delimit the boundaries between, on the one hand, the continental shelf of Nicaragua beyond the 200-nautical-mile (“nm”) limit from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea of Nicaragua is measured and, on the other hand, the continental shelf of...
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ITLOS delimits maritime boundary in Mauritius v. Maldives
On 28 April 2023, a special chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (the “Special Chamber”) issued its merits judgment in the Dispute concerning delimitation of the maritime boundary in the Indian Ocean between the Republic of Mauritius (“Mauritius”) and the Republic of Maldives (the “Maldives”). Mauritius had instituted proceedings before an arbitral tribunal constituted under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (“UNCLOS”), after which the parties agreed to transfer the case to the Special Chamber (the “Special Agreement”). Ruling unanimously, the Special Chamber delimited a single maritime boundary...
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UN General Assembly passes resolution requesting ICJ advisory opinion on States’ obligation on climate change
On 29 March 2023, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution seeking an International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion on the obligations of States to combat climate change. The resolution was initiated by the Government of Vanuatu and co-sponsored by more than 130 States (see Figure below). The UNGA Resolution takes note of the scientific consensus on human-induced climate change, recognises climate change as an unprecedented challenge to the present and future generations of humankind, and recalls previous resolutions and decisions relating to the protection of the global climate and the human right to a clean, healthy,...
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New UNCLOS agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction
On 4 March 2023, at an inter-governmental conference in the United Nations’ headquarters in New York, delegates agreed the text of a legally-binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea (“UNCLOS”) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (the “BBNJ Agreement” or “Treaty”). The BBNJ Agreement marks the culmination of nearly two decades of preparatory work and is the third implementing agreement under UNCLOS. The objective of the BBNJ Agreement is “to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, for...
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Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law seeks advisory opinion from the ITLOS
On 12 December 2022, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (the “ITLOS”) registered a request for an advisory opinion from the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law (the “COSIS”). The COSIS was established as an international organisation pursuant to the 2021 Agreement for the Establishment of the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law (the “Climate Commission Agreement”). Current COSIS Members are Antigua and Barbuda, Tuvalu, the Republic of Palau (subject to approval under its internal law), Niue, the Republic of Vanuatu, and Saint Lucia. The Climate Commission...
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ICJ upholds jurisdiction in The Gambia v. Myanmar
On 22 July 2022, the International Court of Justice (the “ICJ” or “Court”) upheld jurisdiction in the case Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (The Gambia v. Myanmar), dismissing all four preliminary objections raised by Myanmar. The Gambia instituted proceedings in 2019, arguing that Myanmar had violated the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the “Genocide Convention”) through its treatment of members of the Rohingya group that resides primarily in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. In January 2020, the Court unanimously prescribed provisional measures, which, inter alia, required Myanmar...
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ICJ rules on the latest instalment of Nicaragua v. Colombia
On 21 April 2022, the International Court of Justice (the “ICJ” or “Court”) issued its merits ruling in Alleged Violations of Sovereign Rights and Maritime Spaces in the Caribbean Sea, brought by Nicaragua against Colombia. The Court upheld most of Nicaragua’s claims, ruling that Colombia had violated Nicaragua’s sovereign rights and jurisdiction in Nicaragua’s exclusive economic zone (“EEZ”). The ICJ upheld one of Colombia’s counter-claims and dismissed the other. [Read more] The case stems from the Court’s 2012 ruling in Territorial and Maritime Dispute (Nicaragua v. Colombia), which awarded Colombia sovereignty over certain maritime features in the Caribbean Sea and...
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