The classification of seafloor highs as submarine elevations that are natural components of the continental margin is the core exercise in the application of Article 76 of UNCLOS. Its outcome determines whether the outer limits are necessarily constrained by a 350 nautical mile distance line from the baselines, or, alternatively, whether the outer limits may extend far beyond that constraint where the outer edge of the continental margin goes beyond that distance. This paper examines in depth the constitutive criteria that govern the classification of seafloor highs as submarine elevations that are natural components of the continental margin. It is concluded that the interpretation of Article 76(6) of UNCLOS is necessarily dictated by a textual approach.

The treatment by states, at the 69th session of the UNGA, of the ILC’s work on the responsibility of international organizations, the effects of armed conflicts on treaties, and the expulsion of aliens, offer some interesting points for reflection, particularly about the role of states in international law-making. This paper situates the UNGA’s consideration of the draft articles before it within the context of the recent trends of the UNGA’s commending of the ILC’s draft articles to the attention of governments, and of its use of technical roll-overs. In this regard, the paper questions whether the UNGA’s approach to the draft articles on the expulsion of aliens signals a reawakening of the UNGA. Against this backdrop, the paper also discusses the past practice of the UNGA when considering the draft articles of the ILC.

A financial transactions tax (FTT) is a tax on wholesale capital market transactions, which civil society has long advocated for on grounds of social justice. This so-called “Robin Hood Tax” would take from the rich and give to the poor. Revenue estimates for a global FTT of 0.05 percent are around US$500 billion per annum. One-quarter of this revenue stream can achieve the first six Millennium Development Goals relating to poverty, health, and education. Even if the developed countries retain all of the revenue raised, the impost would see financial services institutions making a fairer contribution to the societies in which they operate. Thus, as an instrument of justice, the potential of an FTT is great—but, most of all, such a tax will enhance the operations of contemporary financial markets substantially. This paper explores the potential of such a tax, the arguments for and against it, and its feasibility.

The international climate regime is in the process of negotiating a legally binding instrument concerning Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+). The paper starts by exploring the complex web of decisions and advices that currently regulate REDD+ initiatives within the international climate regime. This is followed by an analysis of justice issues raised by non-state actors in the REDD+ international negotiations. The paper concludes by building on this analysis to identify some relevant considerations when seeking to design a just and legally binding REDD+ instrument. These considerations include: the impact of market- versus fund-based investment channels, the importance of defining a clear objective; the inclusion and role of international principles such as sovereignty, preventative action, common but differentiated responsibility, sustainable development, and Free, Prior, and Informed Consent; the appropriate design of REDD+ safeguards and the inclusion of grievance mechanisms within the instrument which provide guidance on resolving disputes associated with REDD+ investment.

The Ghana/Côte d'Ivoire case is the first time that an ITLOS ad hoc chamber has addressed the lawfulness of unilateral hydrocarbon activities in a disputed maritime area. This paper analyzes the Chamber's ruling on Côte d'Ivoire's submission no. 2, which covers several important issues: the jurisdiction of the Chamber to decide on submission no. 2, the alleged violation of sovereign rights, and the alleged violation of Article 83(3) of UNCLOS. The paper argues that the Chamber's jurisdictional basis of forum prorogatum is questionable, and that there are inconsistent approaches between the Judgment and the Order of the provisional measures. Additionally, there are not only inconsistent understandings of the “Ivorian maritime area” within the same submission no. 2 by the Chamber, but also a logical gap in the Chamber's reasoning with regard to submission no. 2(iii). Consequently, the Chamber's inconsistent approaches may jeopardize the persuasiveness of its judgment.

Global law and the environment is an increasingly prominent and rapidly evolving area of scholarship. In confronting global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, freshwater scarcity, and other symptoms of planetary breakdown, critical scholars from different intellectual traditions are questioning the traditional approach taken within environmental law which has, so far, only managed to save “some trees” but failed to keep “the forest”. These dominant legal interactions often use the law to address “problems” after they arrive. However, the law plays a key role also in constituting these “problems” by incentivizing certain harmful activities, upholding socio-political-economic structures, and through the limited framing of the issues it claims to solve. It is becoming increasingly clear that we live in a “legally constituted world”. Against this background, there is a need for further critical reflection on the role of the law in preventing, addressing, and even driving the entangled socio-ecological-economic crises of modernity. Through interrogating the assumptions that underlie environmental law, critical scholars have exposed, challenged, and put forward alternative visions to its neo-colonial and gendered biases; its exclusion of indigenous perspectives and voices; its construction upon problematic representations of “the environment” that centres an anthropocentric worldview; and a neoliberal economic order that fosters vast environmental damage.