Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Gaps, Issues And Prospects: International Law And The Protection Of Underwater Cultural Heritage, Lowell Bautista

Lowell Bautista

The protection and preservation of underwater cultural heritage is becoming an increasingly important issue as technologies develop which allow for its exploitation. The UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage ("UCH Convention") is an important step in the international regulation of this resource. This paper examines the theoretical and historical antecedents of the UCH Convention, and outlines the Convention's most significant provisions. Specifically, this paper examines how the UCH Convention protects underwater cultural heritage in six areas: internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, the continental shelf, and the Area. This paper then …

Ensuring The Preservation Of Submerged Treasures For The Next Generation: The Protection Of Underwater Cultural Heritage In International Law, Lowell Bautista

Lowell Bautista

In a historic moment that culminated almost a decade of negotiations, the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH Convention) was adopted on 2 November 2001.2 The UCH Convention is the fourth international instrument dealing with cultural heritage adopted under the aegis of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the first one specifically addressing the protection of underwater cultural heritage (UCH) in international law.3 The UCH Convention is the first universal instrument that exclusively deals with the preservation of UCH in international waters. The UCH Convention builds upon and addresses the gaps of …

The Historical Context And Legal Basis Of The Philippine Treaty Limits, Lowell Bautista

Lowell Bautista

The Philippines, on the basis of historic right of title, claims that its territorial sea extends to the limits set forth in the colonial treaties, which define the extent of the archipelago at the time it was ceded from Spain to the U.S. in 1898. The line drawn around the archipelago marks the outer limits of the historic territorial seas of the Philippines, which will be referred to here as the Philippine Treaty Limits. The Philippine Treaty Limits are contested in international law because they evidently breach the twelve-mile breadth of the territorial sea provided for in the Law of …

The Implications Of Recent Decisions Of International Courts And Tribunals On The Territorial And Maritime Boundary Disputes In East And Southeast Asia (Nbr Special Report No.37 - Pp105-128), Lowell Bautista

Lowell Bautista

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This essay examines recent decisions of international courts and tribunals—specifically, the 2009 Maritime Delimitation in the Black Sea case between Romania and Ukraine—and draws implications for the territorial and maritime boundary disputes in East and Southeast Asia.

Main Findings The judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Black Sea case is a landmark jurisprudential contribution to the development of the law of maritime delimitation. In this case, the ICJ explicitly provided a three-stage delimitation method—which, although not novel, is a clarification and clear articulation not seen in previous cases.

The peaceful settlement of disputes over …

Bioprospecting Or Biopiracy: Does The Trips Agreement Undermine The Interests Of Developing Countries?, Lowell Bautista

Lowell Bautista

The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) created within the framework of the World Trade Organization (WIO) poses a contentious discord between developed and developing nations. The criticism that TRIPS is nothing more than a modern vehicle of western imperialism encapsulates the perception that the TRIPS is inimical to the interests of developing countries. The ostensible failure of the wro regime to raise the living standards of developing countries, a centerpiece putative effect of economic liberalization heralded in the Uruguay Round, miserably highlighted the fundamental social, cultural and widening economic differences between the two bipolarized camps.

The Legal Status Of The Philippine Treaty Limits In International Law, Lowell Bautista

Lowell Bautista

The fundamental position of the Philippines is that the limits of its national territory are the boundaries laid down in the 1898 Treaty of Paris which ceded the Philippines from Spain to the United States. The position of the Philippine Government is contested in the international community and runs against rules in the Law of the Sea Convention, which the Philippines signed and ratified. The issue of the legal status of the Philippine Treaty Limits in international law has been subject of much academic debate and serious criticisms. This paper will analyse the legal status of the Philippine Treaty Limits …

The Philippine Treaty Limits And Territorial Water Claim In International Law, Lowell Bautista

Lowell Bautista

The fundamental position of the Philippines regarding the extent of its territorial and maritime boundaries is based on two contentious premises: first, that the limits of its national territory are the boundaries laid down in the 1898 Treaty of Paris which ceded the Philippines from Spain to the UnitedStates; and second, that all the waters embraced within these imaginary lines are its territorial waters. The position of the Philippine Government is contested in the international community and runs against rules in the Law of the SeaConvention, which the Philippines signed and ratified. This situation poses two fundamental unresolved issues of …

Thinking Outside The Box: The South China Sea Issue And The United Nations Convention On The Law Of The Sea (Options, Limitations And Prospects), Lowell Bautista

Lowell Bautista

The South China Sea issue is a geopolitical tinder box waiting to explode.2 It is clear that the primary reason for the claims is based on its strategic location and its hydrocarbon potential,3 However, this is more than a simple conflict over resources.4 The issue goes beyond the question of territorial sovereignty and natural resource jurisdiction.s This 1S more than a legalquestion of ownership.

Philippine-China Border Relations: Cautious Engagement Amidst Tensions, Lowell Bautista, Clive Schofield

Lowell Bautista

Conflicting claims to sovereignty over islands, related overlapping maritime claims, and undelimited maritime boundaries are an enduring source of tension between the Philippines and China. In particular, an influential and often corrosive factor in their bilateral relations is their competing claims in the South China Sea. China asserts territorial sovereignty over numerous islands in the southern South China Sea, generally referred to as the Spratly (Nansha) islands, on historic grounds. Meanwhile, the Philippines claims sovereignty over many of the same islands, which it refers to as the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG), on the basis of discovery and effective occupation (see …

The Historical Background, Geographical Extent And Legal Bases Of The Philippine Territorial Water Claim, Lowell Bautista

Lowell Bautista

The Philippine territorial water claim is unique in international law. On the basis of historic right of title, the Philippines claims a rectangular territorial sea fully enclosing the entirety of the archipelago, which at some points exceed 12 nautical miles in breadth. The 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, which the Philippines signed and ratified, prescribes the maximum breadth of the territorial sea at 12 nautical miles. For this reason, the Philippine territorial sea claim has been criticized for being excessive. This paper will discuss and clarify the historical background, geographical extent, and legal bases of the Philippine territorial water …

Philippine Territorial Boundaries: Internal Tensions, Colonial Baggage, Ambivalent Conformity, Lowell Bautista

Lowell Bautista

The territorial boundaries of the Philippines, inherited from Spain and the United States in 1898, are disputed in international law. The boundaries of the Philippines are not recognised by the international community for two principal reasons: first, because of the fundamental position of the Philippines that the limits of its national territory are the boundaries laid down in the 1898 Treaty of Paris which ceded the Philippines from Spain to the United States; and second, is its claim that all the waters embraced within these imaginary lines are its territorial waters. The Philippine Government is not unaware of these issues …