PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW

Nguyễn Hải Duyên

Dispute settlement
by peaceful means
What is a ‘conflict’?
What is a ‘conflict’?

• Mavrommatis Palestinian Concession Case (Greece v. Great Britain):

“a dispute is a disagreement on a point of law or fact, a conflict of legal views
or of interests between two persons”

• Legal character or political character?

• International conflict? Subjects?

Legal instruments
1. Hague Convention 1899 and 1907: encourage the use of peace means to settle
disputes including mediation, inquiry and international arbitration

2. UN Charter -> general principles of international law, Chapter VI

3. UNGA Resolution 2625 (1970)

4. Manila Declaration 1982: reiterate the principle of settling disputes by

peaceful means
Peaceful means
• Diplomatic means
• Judicial means
• Regional or international organization mechanisms
Diplomatic means

Negotiation Mediation Good offices

Inquiry Conciliation
1. Negotiation
• Parties to conflict directly exchange views about the dispute through
diplomatic channels

• Most popular and often a prerequisite for other measures.

• UNCLOS Art. 283(1): obligations to exchanging views

1. Negotiation
• ICJ North Sea Continental Shelf Case:
“the parties are under an obligation to enter into negotiations with a view
to arriving at an agreement, and not merely to go through a formal process

of negotiation as a sort of prior condition . . . they are under an obligation

so to conduct themselves that the negotiations are meaningful, which will

not be the case when either of them insists upon its own position without
contemplating any modification of it”
1. Negotiation
• Pros and cons?
2. Mediation

• Involvement of 3rd party

• Role of mediator: exchange views of each party, express advice or

recommendation

• Pros and cons?

• Practice? Paris Peace Accords 1973

3. Good offices

• Involvement of 3rd party => influence to encourage parties to enter into

negotiation

• UN Secretary-General? Art 98, 99 UN Charter

• The case of Cyprus 1975 => UNSC request SG to undertake good office
mission
4. Inquiry

• A part of judicial process

• Establishing a commission which ascertains the facts in questions in order to

minimize the tension

• Dogger Bank Incident 1904 Case

• US Bryan treaties => permanent inquiry commission

5. Conciliation

• Procedure of International Conciliation 1961:

“conciliation means a method for the settlement of international disputes of

any nature according to a Commission set up by parties either on permanent
or ad hoc basis”

=> to undertake examination, define the issue of dispute, come up with a

settlement or others as requested.
5. Conciliation
• Conciliator: individual, state, international organization or commission

• Pros and cons?

• Practice?
✓ Vienna Convention 1969, UNCLOS 1982, etc.
✓ Continental Shelf Delimitation between Iceland and Norway: the Commission
established joint development zone based only on legal rights of parties -> unlikely to
reach by judicial body
✓ Palestinian Conciliation Commission established under UNGA Resolution 1948
Judicial means

Arbitration Court
6. Arbitration

• Parties to conflict grant one or more individuals (arbitrators) the

competence to settle their dispute and voluntarily accepted to be bound by
their awards

• Procedures: adopted by parties or choose the models from Hague

Convention, Model Rules on Arbitral Procedure 1958

• Awards: binding, final and cannot be appealed => invalid only when (i)
arbitrators exceed its powers, (ii) corruption, (iii) essential errors
7. Court

• Permanent institutions with their own statute

• Jurisdiction?

• Award: binding and final

• Enforcement mechanism