Abstract The last decade has seen a major, arguably unprecedented, change in State practice on the impact of sea level rise on maritime entitlements and the continuity of statehood. This article assesses the impact of the work of the International Law Association (ILA) Committee on International Law and Sea Level Rise (2014–2024) on these processes. In 2012 the ILA set up this specialised committee to consider the likely impacts of, and possible responses to, sea level rise on the coastal zones and maritime entitlements of small island states if baselines along the coast are ‘ambulatory’. The reports of the ILA Committee have been relied upon heavily in the work of the International Law Commission Study Group on the issue which has itself prompted extensive debate within the Sixth (Legal) Committee of the UN. These developments aligned with and assisted in a rapid and radical realignment of state practice to reflect the need for equity, continuity and legal certainty in the maintenance of the maritime entitlements of coastal states impacted by sea level rise and a similar reassessment of the impacts of possible loss of territory and population on the continuity of statehood of those most vulnerable states.

Abstract This article examines how the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea integrated science into their recent advisory opinions on climate change, arguing that these decisions mark a significant shift in the role of scientific evidence in international environmental adjudication. Drawing on the central role of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and expert evidence, it shows how the courts treated the ‘best available science’ not merely as background fact, but as an authoritative basis for interpreting and specifying states’ legal obligations. The advisory opinions embed scientific consensus within core doctrines of international environmental law, including due diligence and precaution and recalibrate the treatment of probabilistic and cumulative harm. They also reshape future litigation by establishing a science-informed framework for causation, attribution, and reparation in complex, multi-actor disputes, shifting the focus to the presentation and evaluation of scientific evidence.

The possible inundation of an island State by climate change-related sea level rise poses a completely new challenge for international law. The International Law Association Sea Level Rise Committee and the International Law Commission Study Group have concluded that the principles of certainty and stability support the continuity of statehood. This 2023 Declaration by the Pacific Islands Forum, affirms the 'presumption of continuity' of statehood in the face of climate change-related sea level rise. It represents a valuable milestone in the development of State practice on the continuity of statehood and the commitment of affected States to protect their populations.

Abstract for Scopus Indexing: In May 2024, the International Tribunal on the Law of the Seas ( ITLOS ) issued a historic advisory opinion on the obligations of States regarding climate change under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas. This advisory opinion was issued in response to a request submitted by the Commission on Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law. Significantly, the Tribunal stated that: a) States must interpret their obligations under the Convention in light of the best available science; b) greenhouse gas ( GHG ) emissions constitute pollution of the marine environment; and c) they must take all necessary measures to reduce, prevent and control GHG emissions. ITLOS also noted that developed States have an obligation under the Convention to assist developing States in mitigating the effects of climate change. This advisory opinion marks an important first step in the fight for climate justice for small island States. Forthcoming are advisory opinions concerning climate change from the International Court of Justice ( ICJ ) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ( IACHR ). In this article, we explore the jurisdictional arguments some participants raised, the significance of the Tribunal’s opinion, and we contextualize the opinion in light of broader efforts towards climate justice.

This article uses the Sargasso Sea as a case study to provide an analysis of the provisions of Part III of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) on measures such as area-based management tools (ABMTs), including marine protected areas. The ability of the BBNJ Conference of the Parties (COP) to establish internationally legally binding ABMTs in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) presents a new opportunity for the conservation of the Sargasso Sea. Existing work of the Sargasso Sea Commission, as well as the preparations it could make to support a proposal by one or more States Parties to the new COP for an ABMT in the Sargasso Sea are discussed, as is the comprehensive process the BBNJ Agreement establishes for stakeholder engagement as part of the submission of proposals. The Sargasso Sea Commission has a long history of collaboration with international organisations, governments, scientists and others to strengthen the stewardship of the Sargasso Sea. More recent activities to engage directly with the shipping industry stakeholder group specifically are discussed. Finally, the article discusses the work being undertaken in collecting the best available science, collaboration with other international frameworks and bodies and other stakeholders, and the preliminary work on the development of an outline management plan particularly in relation to ongoing monitoring using remote sensing capacity.

This chapter provides the context in which the discussions that led to the Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement arose. Humanity’s understanding of the impact of human activities in the deep sea has grown since the conclusion of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The chapter briefly details some of those impacts and explains that UNCLOS has not always been able to manage them. Sectoral and regional organizations have proliferated, with little coordination between them. There has been no mechanism to impose cross-sectoral marine protected areas in areas beyond national jurisdiction. It is in this context that States began to consider whether or not a new international legally binding instrument was needed.

In 2017, in the aftermath of the Tribunal's Award in the South China Sea Arbitration, Ted McDorman pondered whether the Tribunal's finding-particularly on the legal regime of islands, which he termed "missionary work"-would stand the test of time and be recognized by judicial and state practice. This article sets out to consider the impact which that Award has had in practice. After reviewing some of the key details of the Tribunal's findings on the legal regime of islands, it explores the reception it has received in academic circles and, while there has not yet been any judicial consideration of its findings, it looks at the influence of the Award on the submissions to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS). The majority of South China Sea states-except China-have relied on its analysis of the status of the features of the South China Sea, while extraregional states have also tended to support the Tribunal's ruling.

On 21 May 2024, the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (i tlo s) delivered a ground-breaking and authoritative advisory opinion on States' obligations under Part xii of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (l osc). After con-firming its jurisdiction over the request, itlos ruled that greenhouse gas emissions cause 'deleterious effects on the marine environment' and therefore constitute pollu-tion under the los c. itlos explained the relationship between obligations under the osc and climate law and clarified the due diligence nature of the losc obligations to prevent marine pollution and to protect the marine environment.

This article examines the future governance of areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) in the wake of the new 2023 United Nations Agreement using the work on the Sargasso Sea as a prototype. After discussing the legal framework and current challenges facing the ABNJ regime, some details are provided on open ocean data collection technologies, including big data and artificial intelligence (AI), used in support of ocean governance. Based on a technology-enabled ocean governance cycle, the role that data, information technology and data-science can play in incorporating empirical scientific knowledge into policy and decision-making is examined with a focus on the open ocean. The article concludes with a vision of future high seas governance based on the 2023 Agreement and how big data and AI can play a crucial role in meeting the exciting challenges that the new agreement poses.

Abstract This contribution to the Reflections section of Ocean Yearbook devoted to the memory of the late Professor Meinhard Doelle concerns the options available to coastal States in their responses to global sea level rise driven by anthropogenic climate change. These reflections seek to explore the main policy options and practical approaches based on physical interventions in this context and to assess the possible risks as well as benefits of those approaches. They also explore some of the more radical and cutting-edge technologies which are already being deployed. While addressing the physical intervention options and some of their practical and legal implications, this paper also addresses the importance of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) and capacity-building, both of which were key themes in Meinhard Doelle’s work.

This legal study is based on Legal Dimensions of Sea Level Rise: Pacific Perspectives which was published on June 29, 2021. The original version provided an assessment of key legal frameworks and policy questions that are relevant in the context of sea level rise in the Pacific region. This work, on the other hand, while largely based on the analysis of the original version, provides an updated assessment of the impacts of climate change, especially sea level rise, on the maritime rights of all island and coastal States.1 It is designed for a global audience. The study is divided into three parts. Part I looks briefly at the pioneering work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and its most recent predictions for sea level rise during the current century, and then sets it in the context of other scientific work on threats from sea level rise and warming. Part II sets out an overview of relevant legal frameworks, key terminology, and principles based on international law, as well as judicial decisions and scholarly work that define the rights, resources, and obligations of all coastal States, particularly island and low-lying States. Part III then presents a series of responses to key legal and policy questions faced by these States in relation to sea level rise.

This article identifies and documents a trend in State practice over the past decade or so, regarding the impact of sea level rise on the lawfully determined limits of maritime zones and the existing maritime boundaries. It juxtaposes this development with the findings and recommendations of two committees of the International Law Association in 2012 and 2018 – the Committees on Baselines and Sea Level Rise – and examines the role played since 2019 by the International Law Commission. It explores the implications of emerging State practice for the interpretation of the rules and principles of the 1982 UN Law of the Sea Convention. It documents the complex interactions between the findings of international law scholarship and the evolution of State practice, and concludes that this interaction has played an important role in facilitating legal certainty and stability in the development of a response to this increasingly pressing international law issue.

This contribution outlines the content of a new agreement, signed initially by Antigua and Barbuda and Tuvalu, that establishes a Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law. This Commission has, inter alia, the express power to request an advisory opinion from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on issues within the ITLOS jurisdiction relating to international law and climate change. The complementary initiative by Vanuatu to seek an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice through the UN General Assembly is also discussed. The text of the agreement is attached as an appendix at the end of this article.

The Sargasso Sea is a high seas ecosystem located within the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre. The floating Sargassum macroalgae for which it is named support a diverse and productive ocean ecosystem. The floating mats and windrows of Sargassum house distinct communities of animals including endemic species, and provide shelter, nursery areas and food for many others including juvenile turtles, fish, and birds. A decade ago, in 2012, the two million square mile core area of the Sargasso Sea was “described” by the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) as an Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Area (EBSA), having scored highly on six of the seven designated criteria. At the time it was the largest high seas EBSA to be so described. This paper reviews the scientific evidence supporting the finding that it meets the rigorous criteria for an EBSA and assesses whether there have been major changes in the decade since. It puts this in the context of the work of the Sargasso Sea Commission and the Hamilton Declaration Signatories to “conserve the Sargasso Sea for the benefit of present and future generations” and assesses the extent to which being an EBSA has assisted with these conservation efforts.

The Sargasso Sea is to be found within the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre. Its borders are the major ocean currents. These boundaries shift with these currents, but there is a core area that covers approximately 2 million square nautical miles situated around the Bermuda archipelago, the majority of which is beyond the national jurisdiction of any State. Ten governments have now signed the 2014 Hamilton Declaration on Collaboration for the Conservation of the Sargasso Sea, which mandated the Government of Bermuda to appoint the members of the Sargasso Sea Commission—the first such body to take on a stewardship role for a high seas ecosystem. The Commission has committed to working with the existing international organizations with jurisdictional competences over a myriad of high seas activities. This paper will examine the work of the Commission and lessons learned over the past decade; it will discuss its possible role as a “boundary spanning” organization and look forward to its future in the light of recent grants from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Fonds Francais pour l’Environnement Mondial (FFEM).

The Pacific Island countries are in the front line of adverse impacts from sea level rise. For the last decade the South Pacific Forum Members have been seeking ways to preserve their entitlements to their maritime zones and resources in the event of inundation of coasts and coastal features as a result of sea level rise. The issue was explored by the International Law Association in its 2018 Report and is being considered by a Study Group of the International Law Commission. This 2021 Declaration by the 18 Members of the South Pacific Forum purporting to fix permanently their maritime entitlements represents a major development in State practice for the region.