Programme

Hong Kong SAR
15-16 July 2016

Day 1 (July 15)
9:00-9:10 Opening Remarks:
Li Shishi
President
Chinese Society of International Law
9:10-9:40 Keynote Address:
Tung Chee-Hwa, GBM

Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference;
Former Chief-Executive of Hong Kong SAR
Topic I - Territorial Sovereignty, Maritime Entitlement and the Application of International Law

Land territorial sovereignty issues are beyond the scope of the UNCLOS. Disputes on land territorial sovereignty are resolved in accordance with general international law. Maritime rights are mainly governed by the UNCLOS. Yet the two matters are related. It is imperative to examine and identify the nature of a dispute and to ascertain the applicable principles of international law to achieve proper settlement of the dispute. The panel will review the theory and practice concerning the acquisition of land territory, the scope of the subject-matter jurisdiction of the dispute settlement mechanism under the Convention, and the settlement of dispute over maritime rights and land territorial sovereignty.
9:40-11:20 Territorial Sovereignty, Maritime Rights and the Application of International Law
(Session I)

Moderator:
  • Surakiart Sathirathai - Former Deputy Prime Minister and Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand; Chairman of Asian Peace and Reconciliation Council (APRC)
Speakers:
  • Xue Hanqin - Judge, International Court of Justice
    Topic: The Judicial practice of the ICJ in the settlement of territorial and maritime disputes
  • Pemmaraju Sreenivasa Rao - President, Institut De Droit International, Former Chairman of the ILC
    Topic: The principles governing acquisition of sovereignty over or title to territory dealing with roots of title, historic titles, and principle of effective occupation
  • Donald Rothwell - Professor, Australian National University
    Topic: Land and Maritime Disputes and UNCLOS
11:20-11:40 Coffee Break
11:40-13:00 Territorial Sovereignty, Maritime Entitlement and the Application of International Law
( Session II)

Moderator:
  • Abdul Gadire Koroma - Former Judge, International Court of Justice
Speakers:
  • Mark J. Valencia - Senior Fellow, East-West Center
    Topic: Foreign Military Activities in Coastal States' Waters: Questions and Challenges for International Law
  • Nico Schrijver - Professor, Leiden University
    Topic: Cases Concerning Sovereignty over Islands and Adjacent Maritime Waters before the International Court of Justice (2000-2015)
  • John Anthony Carty - Professor, Tsinghua University
    Topic: The Ownership of the Xisha and Nansha Islands according to French and British National Archival Records
13:00-14:30 Luncheon
Topic II - The Law and Practice with respect to Archipelago and Islands

The UNCLOS establishes the regime of islands and the regime of archipelagic states, but seems to be silent on the regime of outlying archipelagos belonging to continental states. Should rules and principles of general international law be applicable in such circumstances? What is the customary international law and states' practices concerning the regime of islands and the regime of outlying archipelagos of continental states? The panel will examine the relationship between these customary rules and UNCLOS, and explore whether and if so how these customary rules may complement and develop the rules under UNCLOS.
14:30-15:50 The Law and Practice with respect to Archipelago and Islands
(Session I)

Moderator:
  • Gao Zhiguo - Judge, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
Speakers:
  • Stefan Talmon - Professor, University of Bonn
    Topic: Territorial Sovereignty over Low-tide Elevations
  • Tara Davenport - Research Fellow, National University of Singapore
    Topic: Issues in the Implementation of the Archipelagic Regime
  • Melissa Loja - Former Law Clerk, Philippines Supreme Court and Court of Appeals
    Topic: Spratly Islands as a Single Unit under International Law
15:50-16:10 Coffee Break
16:10-17:30 The Law and Practice with respect to Archipelago and Islands
(Session II)

Moderator:
  • Wu Shicun - President, National Institute for South China Sea Studies
Speakers:
  • Myron Nordquist - Professor, University of Virginia
    Topic: Some observations on the Relationship between Sovereignty and the categorization of Maritime Features
  • Erik Franckx - Professor, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
    Topic: Rockapelago's' under International Law: From Definition to Implementation
  • Hong Nong - Executive Director, Institute for China-America Studies
    Topic: Archipelagic Regime and the South China Sea: UNCLOS, State Practice and Implication

Day 2 (July 16)
Topic III - Applicability of Compulsory Procedures under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea: Preconditions, Limitations and Exceptions

The dispute settlement mechanism established by the UNCLOS is one of the pillars of the modern maritime legal order. The mechanism includes voluntary procedures and third-party compulsory procedures, the former as pre-conditions for the latter. What is the intention of the UNCLOS to provide for such pre-conditions? What is the difference between arbitration under the Convention and that under general international law? UNCLOS also permits states to limit the jurisdiction of the compulsory procedures. This panel will explore how these limitations and pre-conditions govern the relationship between voluntary dispute settlement procedures and third-party compulsory procedures and their practice.
9:00-10:30 Applicability of Compulsory Procedures under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea: Preconditions, Limitations and Exceptions
(Session I)

Moderator:
  • Myron Nordquist - Professor, University of Virginia
Speakers:
  • Natalie Klein - Professor, University of Macquarie
    Topic: Expansions and Restrictions in the UNCLOS Dispute Settlement Regime: Lessons from Recent Decisions
  • Sienho Yee - Professor, Wuhan University
    Topic: The South China Sea Arbitration and the International Rule of Law
  • Michael Sheng-ti Gau - Professor, National Taiwan Ocean University
    Topic: Errors found in the Jurisdictional Award concerning South China Sea Disputes
10:30-11:00 Coffee Break
11:00-12:30 Applicability of Compulsory Procedures under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea: Preconditions, Limitations and Exceptions
(Session II)

Moderator:
  • Cheng Chia-Jui - Professor of International Law, Soochow University School of Law, Taipei
Speakers:
  • Geneviève Bastid-Burdeau - Professor, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris I
    Topic: Limitations and exceptions to compulsory procedures in maritime dispute settlements
  • Chris Whomersley - Former Deputy of Legal Advisor, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
    Topic: What is a maritime delimitation?
  • Zhang Xinjun - Associate Professor, Tsinghua University
    Topic: Procedural Delicacy in Case of Non-appearance: When and How must a Court satisfy itself that it has Jurisdiction?
12:30-13:45 Luncheon
Topic IV - Historic Rights in International Law

The concept of historic rights derives from customary international law. The UNCLOS makes reference to historic bays or titles, and some States have in practice declared relevant sea area as historic waters. This panel will discuss the meaning, nature and scope of historic rights and explore what relationship there is between historic rights and the UNCLOS.
13:45-15:15 Historic Rights in International Law

Moderator:
  • Rahmat Mohamad - Secretary-General, Asian-African Legal Consultative Organisation
Speakers:
  • Ted McDorman - Professor, University of Victoria
    Topic: Historic Claims and the International Law of the Sea: An Overview
  • Keyuan Zou - Professor, University of Central Lancashire
    Topic: The applicability of the concept of historic rights in contemporary international law
  • Aldo Chircop - Professor, Dalhousie University
    Topic: The Anglo-Norwegian Fisheries Case 1951 and the doctrine of historic waters revisited
  • Clive Symmons - Professor, National University of Ireland, Galway
    Topic: Problems relating to the Interpretation and Application of 'Historic Rights' under UNCLOS, with particular reference to the Question of the Meaning of 'Historic Titles' in Art.298 of UNCLOS
  • Kuen-chen Fu - Professor, Xiamen University
    Topic: On Historic Rights and Historic Waters in the SCS
15:15-15:30 Coffee Break
15:30-17:30 Special Panel on the South China Sea Arbitration Initiated by the Republic of the Philippines

Moderator:
  • Pemmaraju Sreenivasa Rao - President, Institut De Droit International, Former Chairman of the ILC
Speakers:
  • Stefan Talmon - Professor, University of Bonn
  • Chris Whomersley - Former Deputy Legal Adviser, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Abdul Gadire Koroma - Former Judge, International Court of Justice
  • Sienho Yee - Professor, Wuhan University
  • Myron Nordquist - Professor, University of Virginia
  • Michael Sheng-ti Gau - Professor, National Taiwan Ocean University
  • John Anthony Carty - Professor, Tsinghua University
  • Li Shishi - President, Chinese Society of International Law
17:30-18:00 Closing Remarks
Teresa Cheng GBS, SC, JP
Chairperson, Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre

Rapporteurs:
  • Alexander Tang, Des Voeux Chambers
  • Adrian Lai, Des Voeux Chambers

Public International Law colloquium on Maritime Disputes Settlement 2016