International environmental treaties and soft law instruments stress international cooperation as a fundamental principle in the governance of natural resources shared by two or more states.... Show moreInternational environmental treaties and soft law instruments stress international cooperation as a fundamental principle in the governance of natural resources shared by two or more states. However, tensions between national interests and the common interests of the states sharing natural resources can make it difficult for states to cooperate. Meanwhile, the sustainable management of the resource in question and the human rights of the populations involved can be affected. This dissertation examines principles of international law applicable to the governance of resources that are significant to the world’s population, that have the potential to be a source of conflict, and whose governance presents problematic aspects. The selected principles are sovereignty, community of interests, common concern of humankind, public participation and sustainable development. The first two chapters focus on transboundary freshwater resources, underground and surface waters respectively. Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 focus on the atmosphere, addressing atmospheric degradation and climate change respectively. Chapter 5 focuses on marine resources beyond national jurisdiction or ‘ocean global commons’. Each chapter identifies problems concerning the selected principles and their application to shared resource governance, puts forward original and cogent arguments to address said problems, and suggests ways in which the principles could contribute to the sustainable governance of shared natural resources. Show less
The purpose of the thesis is to (i) single out and clarify the most common types of issues emerging in the interpretation of multilingual tax treaties (i.e. tax treaties authenticated in two or... Show moreThe purpose of the thesis is to (i) single out and clarify the most common types of issues emerging in the interpretation of multilingual tax treaties (i.e. tax treaties authenticated in two or more languages), and (ii) suggest how the interpreter should tackle and disentangle such issues under public international law, with a particular emphasis on the kinds of arguments he should use and the kinds of elements and items of evidence he should rely upon in order to support his construction of the treaty. In order to address such issues, the author has developed a normative (prescriptive) legal analysis based on modern linguistic and, more specifically, semantic theories. However, since the purpose of the study is to suggest how the interpreter should now tackle and disentangle those issues, the author has also carried out a positive (prescriptive) analysis, which highlights the generally accepted principles and rules of treaty interpretation, in order (i) to carve out from his (non-ideal) normative legal theory the results potentially conflicting with such generally accepted principles and rules and (ii) to show how his normative legal theory might be applied to solve interpretative issues in cases where no common solution has been reached yet. Show less
This theoretical study considers the interplay between the rights and responsibilities of (postcolonial) states in forming the underpinnings of public international law. It considers the ways... Show moreThis theoretical study considers the interplay between the rights and responsibilities of (postcolonial) states in forming the underpinnings of public international law. It considers the ways states administer their territory, in some cases after having inherited colonially defined boundaries. It then contrasts this with the general sense in international law that basic human rights standards, including the concept of ‘self-determination’, are to be upheld by states themselves. The thesis observes that international law has become developed to the extent that the concept of self-determination may, in some circumstances, be equated with that of self-defence, and in some circumstances, a 'people' can be formed as a direct response to specific, predatory actions of a state. The thesis concludes by observing that the ability of a state to administer itself in conformity with international human rights law is of equivalent importance to that of its legitimate claims of title to territory, and that territorial modifications may be legitimate legal possibilities in the face of, for example, massive human rights violations. Show less
