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Specially Invited Opinions And Research Report Of The International Water Law Project: Global Perspectives On The Entry Into Force Of The Un Watercourses Convention 2014: Part One, Gabriel Eckstein, Salman M.A. Salman, Dinara Ziganshina, Kishor Uprety, Götz Reichert

Gabriel Eckstein

This is the first part of a two-part research report on opinions of prominent international water lawyers from each continent on the potential impacts of the 1997 UN Convention on Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses. The second part of the report was published in Water Policy 17(1).

The following compilation is reproduced and adapted from a series of essays that appeared in the blog of the International Water Law Project (www.internationalwaterlaw.org). The series was solicited in preparation for the coming into force of the 1997 UN Convention on the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses. The Convention had been pending for …

State Practice In The Management And Allocation Of Transboundary Ground Water Resources In North America, Gabriel Eckstein, Amy Hardberger

Gabriel Eckstein

Throughout the world, international and state political boundaries divide ground water resources into politically convenient jurisdictions. Subsurface water, however, does not recognize such borders and flows freely without regard to overlying politics. This disregard for the political dimension, coupled with the growing global importance of fresh water, has the potential for aggravating disputes and conflicts over the use, allocation, and preservation of such resources. To date, widely accepted norms of international law applicable to transboundary aquifers have yet to emerge. However, local and regional agreements, including both formal and unofficial arrangements, suggest the emergence of state practice that should be …

International Water Law, Groundwater Resources And The Danube Dam Case, Gabriel Eckstein, Yoram Eckstein

Gabriel Eckstein

International water law is generally applied to disputes between states concerning surface bodies of water crossing international borders. Disputes and policy-making over transboundary ground water resources, however, have traditionally been determined on an ad hoc basis or based on regional custom. This disparate treatment stems primarily from the misunderstood nature of ground water and its relationship to surface water among government officials, policy-makers, jurists, and others. The result often has been the degradation of subsurface waters on both sides of political boundaries, and unwittingly, of numerous international surface bodies of water.

International concern over regional and global availability and quality …