On Friday 23 February, the Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law (NIEM) of the Arctic Centre will be hosting a guest lecture by Dr. Suzette V. Suarez, Acting Professor for International Law of the Sea at the Faculty of Law, Universität Hamburg, Germany. The topic of the lecture is the Arbitral Award on the South China Sea Dispute: Legal impacts on the establishment of the outer limits of the continental shelf.

In July 2016, the Arbitral Tribunal constituted under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC) to adjudicate on the dispute between the Philippines and China on the South China Sea concluded that there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the areas falling within the nine-dash line. Further, the Arbitral Tribunal ruled that none of the maritime features on the South China Sea are islands and thus not entitled to an exclusive economic zone or to a continental shelf.

China has been steadfast in its refusal to recognize the validity of the Award. Will the Arbitral Award therefore end up as a mere legal footnote in history? Notwithstanding the current practice of the Parties to the Arbitral Award, the Arbitral Award is likely to have far-reaching effects not only on the other aspects of the South China Sea dispute but in particular, on the establishment of the outer limits of the continental shelf.

Dr. Suarez is an expert on the law of the sea and she has spoken on the South China Sea and its dispute settlement prospects before various audiences.

The lecture will take place on Friday 23 February 2018 at 10–12 am in Borealis meeting room, Arktikum-house, Pohjoisranta 4 Rovaniemi.

The lecture is open for everyone.

More information:

Dr. Kamrul Hossain
Director of the Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law
Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
Tel. +358 (0)40 484 4281, kamrul.hossain(at)ulapland.fi

Dr. Pirjo Kleemola-Juntunen
Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law,
Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
Tel. +358 (0)40 484 4409, pirjo.kleemola-juntunen(at)ulapland.fi