Dette prosjektet skal bidra til å støtte og koordinere arbeidet som gjøres i Komiteen for internasjonal rett og havnivåstigning av International Law Association (ILA). Komiteen er en av i alt 20 internasjonale komiteer i ILA i dag, men dette er den eneste som fokuserer på klimaforandringene og havnivåstigningens konsekvenser for internasjonal rett. Komiteen ledes av Research Professor Davor Vidas ved Fridtjof Nansens Institutt, medlem av Norsk forening for internasjonal rett (den norske avdelingen av ILA), og består i dag av 45 anerkjente jurister fra ulike deler av verden. Komiteen adresserer en rekke grunnleggende juridiske spørsmål: Hvilke konsekvenser vil klimaforandringene få for internasjonal rett? Hva skjer når havet stiger og havrettslige prinsipper som grunnlinje og territorielle maritime grenser kommer i spill? Hvilke implikasjoner kan økt havnivå få for eksempel for ressurstilgang, fred og sikkerhet; eller for menneskerettigheter? Komiteens mandat er å utrede havnivåstigningens mulige konsekvenser for internasjonal rett, samt å utarbeide forslag til hvordan jusen kan videreutvikles for å møte de nye utfordringene. Komiteens interim rapport er publisert in 2022, sluttrapport kommer i 2024.
The main outcomes of this project are contained in the report of the Committee on International Law and Sea Level Rise presented at the 80th Biennial ILA Conference, which was held in Lisbon, Portugal, in June 2022. Beyond the ILA membership of over 4500 experts, the outcomes of ILA committees are regularly communicated to the UN, its specialized agencies and other international organisations, courts and tribunals. These are the main channels for impacts. The results of the ILA Committee, contained in its 2018 and 2022 reports and two resolutions on sea-level rise, have already made impacts on several policy levels since 2019 - and in 2021 and 2022 in particular - such as to the Sixth Committee of the UN General Assembly, submission of some States to the UN debate on international law and sea level rise, documents adopted by the countries in regional forums (such as the Pacific Islands Forum), and to the UN International Law Commission which in 2019 commenced its work on this topic and has so far completed two Issue Papers by the Co-Chairs of the ILC Study Group on International Law in relation to sea-level rise. This project has further enhance those impacts, as is evident from the documents and discussions between UN Member States held in the Sixth Committee of the UN General Assembly in recent years, as well as by the relevant regional bodies and other stakeholders.
The Committee on International Law and Sea Level Rise of the International Law Association (ILA) is one of the 20 active international committees of the ILA, but the only one focused on the implications of climate change, such as sea-level rise, for the development of international law. The establishment of this Committee by the ILA was prompted by the recognition that the implications of substantial territorial loss resulting from sea-level rise extend beyond baselines and the law of the sea, and encompass fundamental considerations at the junction of several parts of international law - including concerns of statehood, national identity, human rights, state responsibility, access to resources, and international peace and security. The mandate of the Committee is set to 'study the possible impacts of sea-level rise and the implications under international law of the partial and complete inundation of state territory, or depopulation thereof, in particular of small island and low-lying states'; and to 'develop proposals for the progressive development of international law in relation to the possible loss of all or of parts of state territory and maritime zones due to sea-level rise, including the impacts on statehood, nationality, and human rights'. The Committee has a membership of 40, with prominent international law experts from 21 regional and national ILA branches, and is chaired by Professor Davor Vidas of the Norwegian ILA Branch.
The primary objective of this project is to facilitate the coordination tasks involved in chairmanship of the Committee, which will run through November 2022.