This chapter assesses the international legal and constitutional law issues associated with the capacity of the Australian states and territories to conduct themselves in foreign affairs, especially vis-à-vis China. It is published in the book, Taking the low road: China's influence in Australian states and territories, edited by John Fitzgerald and published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

The Antarctic Treaty, which celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2019, remains as a unique example of an international law instrument that seeks to provide a governance mechanism for a single continent. Both Japan and Australia were original parties to the Antarctic Treaty and have been strong supporters of the Treaty throughout its lifetime. However, in 2019 questions are starting to be raised as to whether a treaty negotiated in 1959 is capable of continuing to provide an appropriate governance framework for Antarctica. These questions relate to the role of the seven Antarctic claimant States, the role of historically prominent non-claimant States such as the United States and the Russian Federation, and the interests of powerful ‘new’ States that are beginning to express a strong interest in polar affairs such as China. This paper assesses whether the Antarctic Treaty is sufficiently robust to address the challenges that confront Antarctic governance in 2019 and into the future. Particular attention will be given to whether it remains possible for Treaty parties to request an Article XII ‘Review Conference’, and also the 1991 Madrid Protocol Article 25 review mechanisms.

This book provides a landmark study into the law of the sea, taking stock of the majors developments, core concepts, and key challenges within this fundamental area of law. Written by over forty expert contributors, both eminent scholars and leading practitioners, it explores the most important issues facing the world's oceans and seas, including piracy, climate change, and military operations.

Throughout much of the Twentieth Century there was an ongoing debate within Canada as to the status of its territorial claims in the Arctic. Following the voyage of the SS Manhattan in 1969 that debate was joined to also encompass consideration of Canadian Arctic maritime sovereignty. With the exception of the disputed Hans Island, over which Canada and Denmark have agreed to disagree, there is no direct challenge to Canadian Arctic sovereignty in 2013. Nevertheless, it has been a persistent theme in Canadian academic and political discourse for much of the past decade that Canada’s Arctic sovereignty is threatened. Canada, along with all of the Arctic states, is also beginning to face the reality that the Arctic is facing rapid globalization partly as a result of climate change and the melting of the Arctic ice but also because of the growing interest of non-Arctic states in accessing the Arctic. This paper seeks to challenge some of the perceptions that have developed with respect to Canadian Arctic sovereignty from the perspective of international law. Consideration will be given to the status of Canada’s territorial and maritime claims in the Arctic, and the rights and obligations that Canada has in the Arctic as a party to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC). Particular attention will be given to Canada’s claims to an Arctic outer continental shelf, the regulation and management of the Northwest Passage, and the freedoms of navigation enjoyed by non-Arctic states within Canada’s exclusive economic zone.

In 2009 the 1959 Antarctic Treaty celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. Its resilience in managing the Antarctic continent and parts of the adjacent Southern Ocean is generally seen as one of the great ‘success stories’ of contemporary international law. This is especially the case when it is considered that the treaty was negotiated during the height of the Cold War at a time when the USSR and US had significant interests in Antarctica, and that the treaty never sought to resolve simmering sovereignty tensions over parts of the continent especially those between Argentina, Chile and the United Kingdom over their competing claims to parts of the Antarctic Peninsula. Now, in the early part of the Twenty First century and notwithstanding the lack of recognition which has been granted to the seven territorial claims to the Antarctic continent, the Antarctic Treaty now includes not only the original 12 states parties, but an additional 36 states parties from varied parts of the globe, and retains its capacity to effectively manage Antarctic affairs.

The regulation of navigation by shipping has been one of the longest standing issues confronting the law of the sea. Once states began to assert various forms of control and regulation over their adjacent waters, the issue of regulating the passage of foreign-flagged ships needed to be addressed. While the navigational rights and freedoms of shipping is now relatively settled under both the LOSC and contemporary state practice, a counterpoint to this has gradually emerged over the past 30 years due to a growing environmental awareness by coastal states of the need for enhanced environmental protection and management of not only their waters, but also their marine environmental resources and adjacent coastal areas. One response by coastal states has been to adopt compulsory pilotage regimes under which certain ships are required to take on board pilots, or avail themselves of pilotage services, as they pass through certain waters. Pilotage has a long maritime history, and is closely connected with efforts to secure the safety of shipping and the safety of a port from wayward ships. Once pilotage is required beyond internal waters in the territorial sea of a coastal state including an international strait the LOSC imposes constraints on the coastal state regulation of foreign shipping within those waters. Those rights of the coastal state are not unilateral and must be understood in the context of not only the LOSC but also related mechanisms and frameworks, especially those dealing with ship safety and the regulation of navigation overseen by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). This essay looks at these issues in the context of a compulsory pilotage regime that has been adopted by Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) for the Torres Strait, and then considers what options may be available for equivalent measures to be adopted for the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.

The law of the sea provides for the regulation, management and governance of the ocean spaces that cover over two-thirds of the Earth's surface. This book provides a fresh explanation of the foundational principles of the law of the sea, a critical overview of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and an analysis of subsequent developments including the many bilateral, regional and global agreements that supplement the Convention.

The book takes as its focus the rules and institutions established by the Convention on the Law of the Sea and places the achievements of the Convention in both historical and contemporary context. All of the main areas of the law of the sea are addressed including the foundations and sources of the law, the nature and extent of the maritime zones, the delimitation of overlapping maritime boundaries, the place of archipelagic and other special states in the law of the sea, navigational rights and freedoms, military activities at sea, and marine resource and conservation issues including fisheries, marine environmental protection, and dispute settlement.

As the Convention is now over a quarter of a century old the book takes stock of contemporary oceans issues that are not adequately addressed by the convention. Overarching challenges facing the law of the sea are considered, including how new maritime security initiatives can be reconciled with traditional navigational rights and freedoms, how declines in the health of marine ecosystems can be halted through strengthened legal regimes, and how the law of the sea can regulate ocean space in the Polar regions as global warming opens up new possibilities for resource exploitation.

As the international law of the sea has developed throughout the centuries, and there has been a growing acceptance of the legitimacy of a range of maritime zones, there has been a need to provide certainty with respect to the freedom of navigation through certain waters. The initial focus was to assure freedom of navigation in the territorial sea, and this saw the gradual recognition of innocent passage which guaranteed rights of navigation by foreign-flagged vessels. The innocent passage regime developed alongside expanding claims by coastal states to a broader territorial sea, and as long as expansive claims to a territorial sea were kept under check significant disruption to maritime traffic through straits used by international navigation was minimised. However, as the territorial sea regime became more accepted as a part of customary international law, and then was recognised in the 1958 Geneva Convention on the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone, it was evident that the particular issues that arose concerning navigation through straits would have to be addressed.

International Law: Cases and Materials with Australian Perspectives is the authoritative textbook for Australian international law students. Written by a team of experts, it examines how international law is developed, implemented and interpreted, and features comprehensive commentary throughout. All core areas of the law are covered, with chapters on human rights, law of the sea, international environmental law and enforcement of international law. Cases and treaties are dissected to highlight the key principles, rules and distinctive learning points. This new edition has been thoroughly updated in line with recent developments in the field and includes a new chapter on the use of force, as well as expanded content on the enforcement of international law, including sanctions, law enforcement against pirates and the 2011 Libyan conflict. International Law provides clear and rigorous analysis and is an indispensable resource for law students.