s.8 Prevention and Settlement of Disputes, Ch.18 The Settlement of Disputes through Judicial Means (Article 33(10) and the Annex on Arbitration)

Subject(s):

Canals — Lakes — Rivers — Arbitration

This chapter focuses on Article 33 (paragraph 10), which governs the settlement of disputes through judicial means. Article 33(10) adopts a classical approach to dispute settlement through diplomatic and judicial means. Two issues were raised during long discussions at the International Law Commission (ILC): first, whether recourse to third-party settlement has to be compulsory under the UN Watercourses Convention and second, what are the different stages that recourse to a third-party mechanism should contain. The chapter first provides a brief overview of the preparatory works of the ILC before discussing the scope and dimensions of Article 33(10) and the Annex to the Convention, which provides for the arbitration procedure pursuant to Article 33. In particular, it considers dispute settlement through judicial means in treaty practice and highlights a number of cases on judicial settlement. It also examines Article 33(10)’s relations with other articles of the Convention.