The Intertemporal Principle in International Judicial Practice and Its Implications for the South China Sea Dispute

Abstract

The intertemporal problem demonstrated in the South China Sea dispute is whether UNCLOS supersedes the previous legal order governing the disputed areas during the pre-UNCLOS period. In order to solve this problem, this article will conduct a detailed investigation into relevant international judicial practice. In the first part of this article, an overview of relevant international judicial practice is introduced. The second part analyses the legal techniques adopted for the evolutionary approach in relevant cases. The third part discusses how to identify the common consent by the parties. In the end, based on the aforesaid analysis about the intertemporal principle, it discusses the implications of this for the South China Sea dispute.