Canals »
Maurizio Arcari, Mariana Clara De Andrade
1 Canals are artificial waterways that for purposes of international legal regulation (see also Traffic and Transport, International Regulation) must be distinguished from natural waterways such as international watercourses or international straits (Straits, International). There are several kinds of such man-made waterways, that can be classified according to the uses served or to the geographical situation. Maritime or interoceanic canals connecting different portions of the open seas, and inland canals duplicating rivers or improving navigable portions of...
Counterclaim: International Court of Justice (ICJ) »
Maurizio Arcari
1 The concept of counter-claim is neither mentioned in the Statute of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), nor was it provided for in the Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ). Only in 1936 was a separate article dealing with counter-claims introduced in the Rules of the PCIJ and, after subsequent revisions, that provision became the current Article 80 of the ICJ Rules (see sec B below). The fact that the legal regime of counter-claims has been constructed by the PCIJ/ICJ itself, both in the exercise of the rule-making power conferred...
Panama Canal »
Maurizio Arcari, Mariana Clara De Andrade
1 While the idea of piercing the isthmus of Central America to connect the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans dates back to the Spanish colonial age, it became a concrete plan only during the 19th century. At the first Pan-American Congress held in Panama in 1826 the construction of an inter-oceanic canal (Canals) was considered as a common American project for the benefit of all States (see also International Law, Regional Developments: Latin America). 2 The legal history of the inter-oceanic canal may be said to begin in 1846, when the United States and New...
s.1 Nature and Aims of the UN Watercourses Convention, Ch.2 Scope of the Convention (Article 1) »
Maurizio Arcari
From: The UN Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses: A Commentary
Edited By: Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, Makane Moïse Mbengue, Mara Tignino, Komlan Sangbana, Jason Rudall
This chapter provides an overview of the scope of the UN Watercourses Convention as stated in Article 1. It first discusses the preparatory works leading to the adoption of the Convention before considering the Convention’s scope and normative impact, focusing in particular on the ‘uses’ of watercourses, as referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 1; the implications of the words ‘protection, preservation and management’ appearing in the same paragraph; the scope and the rationale of the exclusions respectively provided for in paragraph 2 concerning navigation and in the statement of understanding concerning living resources. The chapter then considers Article 1’s relations with other articles of the Convention and concludes with a critical assessment of its impact for grasping the scope and the significance of the Convention.
Suez Canal »
Maurizio Arcari, Mariana Clara De Andrade
1 Different canals connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, and using the waters of the Nile River, are reported to have existed in Egypt at the time of the Pharaohs, from about 1900 BCE. In 776, existing canal routes were closed by Caliph Abu-Jafar-al-Mansur for strategic reasons. Plans for the construction of a new maritime canal were considered by the Venetians toward the end of the 15th century, and later on by different French governments until the commission created by Napoleon in 1798, but they were never implemented. 2 The project for the building...