Journal
OCEAN DEVELOPMENT AND INTERNATIONAL LAW
Volume 53, Issue 1, Pages 19-36Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS INC
DOI: 10.1080/00908320.2022.2033143
Keywords
baselines; International Law Commission; international law of the sea; maritime zones; Pacific Islands Forum; sea-level rise; state practice
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Funding
- Geoscience Australia - University of Sydney collaboration
- AGRTP
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This article provides a commentary on the PIF Declaration, which emphasizes the importance of state practice and the interpretation and application of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in preserving maritime zones in the face of sea-level rise.
In August 2021, Pacific Islands Forum Leaders issued the Declaration on Preserving Maritime Zones in the Face of Climate Change-Related Sea-Level Rise (PIF Declaration), declaring their intention that their maritime zones, and rights and entitlements flowing from those zones, would be maintained notwithstanding the effects of sea-level rise. This article offers a commentary on the PIF Declaration in the context of scholarly debate on sea-level rise implications for baselines and maritime zones, and in light of its historical lineage. The PIF Declaration's significance lies in giving prominence to a package of state practice, comprising the establishment of maritime zones using fixed methods, their notification to the international community, and their maintenance over time. The article examines evidence of such practice among PIF members, and considers how such practice advances the PIF Declaration's claim that the preservation of maritime zones may be achieved through the interpretation and application of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
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