Sea-Level Rise and the Stability of Maritime Boundaries: Rethinking UNCLOS in a Changing Climate
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22921750Słowa kluczowe:
International Law Commission, Law of the Sea, Ambulatory Baselines, Maritime Boundaries, UNCLOS, Sea-Level RiseAbstrakt
This article addresses a critical contemporary challenge in the international law of the sea: the legal disruption caused by sea-level rise to established maritime baselines and outer zone limits. The central research question examines how the regulatory architecture of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) can maintain the stability and predictability of maritime boundaries when the physical coastlines from which they are measured are permanently receding. Employing a doctrinal and jurisprudential methodology, this article evaluates the traditional "ambulatory baseline" theory against emerging state practice, regional declarations, and the ongoing work of the International Law Commission (ILC) study group on sea-level rise. The principal argument posits that a strict, literal interpretation of UNCLOS requiring baselines to move landward as sea levels rise is structurally destabilizing, threatening international peace, economic security, and the sovereign rights of coastal and small island states. The principal contribution of this article is the development of a coherent legal framework supporting the "freezing" or fixing of existing maritime zones. It demonstrates how dynamic treaty interpretation under Article 31 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT), combined with regional state practice, can consolidate a customary rule of boundary permanence, ensuring legal stability without necessitating a formal amendment to UNCLOS.
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Bibliografia
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