The prospect of an independent Scotland raises a number of significant questions as to the impact on the rights and obligations of both Scotland and the rest of the UK (rUK) under international law. This short article highlights some of the key international law implications of Scottish independence and how they may impact on private … Read more

On 23 September 2017, a Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) delivered its judgment on the longstanding maritime boundary dispute between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. The Special Chamber reconfirmed the relevance of the equidistance methodology in determining the maritime boundary between the two States. The judgment also touches … Read more

In a long-running dispute, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (“PCA“) Tribunal has issued its Final Award. The Final Award, which runs to nearly 400 pages, determines disputed territorial and maritime boundaries between the Republic of Slovenia and the Republic of Croatia. The Final Award also creates a “junction” in the Adriatic Sea for Slovenia’s uninterrupted … Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills' consultant Antonio Pastor is pleased to announced the release of his book  'Delimitation of maritime boundaries between states. Insular formations and low-tide elevations' (TIRANT LO BLANCH, Valencia, 2017). Commenting on the book, Antonio said: "There is an economic dimension of this subject matter. The settlement of maritime boundaries can have a significant … Read more

On 12 July 2016, the final Award in the arbitration between the Republic of the Philippines and The Peoples' Republic of China was issued by the Tribunal constituted under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ("UNCLOS").  Much international media attention has been focused on the arbitration, which concerned a number of … Read more

The United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (the CLCS) has now published its full recommendations on the limits of Argentina's continental shelf.  There was considerable press speculation following the issue of a preliminary CLCS press release in March 2016 that its recommendations may have impacted on areas of the continental shelf … Read more

As Scotland is poised to decide on its future, a number of questions remain unexplored and unresolved in the politics of the Referendum debate. In our July 2014 webinar, “Cutting through the politics of the Scottish Independence Referendum: The International Law Implications of Independence”, our speakers considered the legal ramifications of an independent Scotland from … Read more

With the question of independence on the agenda in Scotland and Kurdistan to name only two, the possible creation of new states has potentially significant ramifications for business, and particularly investments, risk assessments and contracts. Today a panel comprised of Akok Manyuat Madut, Counsellor, Embassy of the Republic of South Sudan, Greg Marten, Associate General … Read more