International Law and Development Perspectives
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34771 LAW, JUSTICE, AND DEVELOPMENT SERIES Public Disclosure Authorized THE TRANSIT REGIME Public Disclosure Authorized FOR LANDLOCKED STATES Public Disclosure Authorized International Law and Development Perspectives Kishor Uprety Public Disclosure Authorized Other Titles in the Law, Justice, and Development Series The Human Right to Water: Legal and Policy Dimensions (2004) by Salman M. A. Salman and Siobhán McInerney-Lankford Legislating for Sustainable Fisheries: A Guide to Implementing the 1993 FAO Compliance Agreement and 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement (2001) by William Edeson, David Freestone, and Elly Gudmundsdottir Also available in French (2004) The Legal and Regulatory Framework for Environmental Impact Assessments: A Study of Selected Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (2002) by Mohammed A. Bekhechi and Jean-Roger Mercier Regulatory Frameworks for Dam Safety: A Comparative Study (2002) by Daniel D. Bradlow, Alessandro Palmieri, and Salman M. A. Salman Available in French (2003). Also available in Chinese (2002) through the World Bank Office in Beijing, and in Russian (2003) through VES MIR Publishers, Moscow Conflict and Cooperation on South Asia’s International Rivers: A Legal Perspective (2002) by Salman M. A. Salman and Kishor Uprety The Transit Regime for Landlocked States Law, Justice, and Development The Law, Justice, and Development series is offered by the Legal Vice Presidency of the World Bank to provide insights into aspects of law and justice that are rel- evant to the development process. Works in the series present new legal and judicial reform activities related to the World Bank’s work, as well as analyses of domestic and international law. The series is intended to be accessible to a broad audience as well as to legal practitioners. Series Editor: Salman M. A. Salman Editorial Board: Dominique Bichara, Hassane Cisse, Alberto Ninio, and Kishor Uprety The Transit Regime for Landlocked States International Law and Development Perspectives Kishor Uprety Senior Counsel Legal Vice Presidency The World Bank THE WORLD BANK Washington, D.C. © 2006 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000 Internet: www.worldbank.org E-mail: [email protected] All rights reserved. 050607084321 The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. 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All other queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to the Office of the Publisher, World Bank, 1818 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; fax: 202-522-2422, e-mail: [email protected]. ISBN-10: 0-8213-6299-2 eISBN: 0-8213-6300-X ISBN-13: 978-0-8213-6299-0 DOI: 10.1596/978-0-8213-6299-0 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for. Contents List of Tables vii Cases Cited ix Foreword xi Abstract xiii Acknowledgments xv Acronyms and Abbreviations xvii PART ONE General Overview Chapter 1 Introduction, Characteristics, and Scope 3 1.1 The Notion of Landlocked States 4 1.2 Historical Characteristics 6 1.3 Geopolitical Features 7 1.4 Economic and Developmental Challenges 13 1.5 Thematic Concerns and Scope 22 PART TWO Theoretical Bases Chapter 2 Principles, Doctrines, and Theories Influencing the Right of Access to the Sea 27 2.1 Theory Based on the Freedom of Transit 28 2.2 Free Access and the Principle of Freedom of the Seas 30 2.3 Right of Access as an International Servitude 31 2.4 Right Compensating for Geographical Inequalities 35 2.5 Freedom of River Navigation 37 PART THREE Evolution of the Regime Chapter 3 Evolution of International Law 47 3.1 Freedom of Transit for Trade: The Barcelona Statute 48 3.2 The Railway Case (Traffic between Lithuania and Poland) 50 v vi Contents 3.3 Freedom of Transit Strengthened: The Havana Charter and the GATT 56 3.4 Reciprocity to Right of Access: The Convention on the High Seas 59 3.5 Free Access Versus Territorial Sovereignty and the New York Convention 66 3.6 Right to Secure Access Under UNCLOS III 75 3.7 Enforcement of the Right of Access Under International Instruments 96 Chapter 4 Influence of International Law on State Practice 118 4.1 Treaties Concluded in Europe 118 4.2 Treaties Concluded in Africa 120 4.3 Treaties Concluded in Latin America 123 4.4 Treaties Concluded in Asia 126 Chapter 5 “Soft” Instruments and Specific Initiatives: Variation in Themes 130 5.1 International “Soft Law” Mechanisms 130 5.2 Specific Initiatives for Resource Allocation 134 5.3 Pluridimensionality in Facilitating Access 140 PART FOUR Conclusion Chapter 6 A Better Future for All 149 6.1 Customary Law in Existence 149 6.2 Relativism in Progress 150 6.3 Pragmatism in Decision-Making 151 Select Bibliography 153 Appendix One: Convention and Statute on the Regime of Navigable Waterways of International Concern 163 Appendix Two: United Nations Conference on Transit Trade of Land-Locked Countries 179 Appendix Three: United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III): Part X—Right of Access of Land-Locked States to and from the Sea and Freedom of Transit 190 Index 193 List of Tables Table 1.1 Landlocked Countries and Transshipping Points 8 Table 1.2 Main Access to the Sea for Least Developed Landlocked Countries 20 Table 1.3 Intraregional Trade of Landlocked Developing Countries, 1998 and 1999: Proportion of Total Exports and Imports Whose Destinations and Sources Are Within the Same Region or Continent 21 vii Cases Cited Continental Shelf Case (Libya v. Malta) (ICJ) Electricity Company of Sofia Case (Belgium v. Bulgaria) (ICJ) Gulf of Maine Case (Canada v. USA) (ICJ) North Sea Continental Shelf Case (Federal Republic of Germany and Denmark; Federal Republic of Germany and the Netherlands) Nottebohm Case (Liechtenstein v. Guatemala) (ICJ) Oscar Chinn Case (Great Britain v. Belgium) (PCIJ) Phosphates of Morocco Case (Italy v. France) (PCIJ) Railway Traffic Case (Poland v. Lithuania) (PCIJ) Right of Passage Case (Portugal v. India) (ICJ) River Oder Case (Great Britain, Czechoslovak Republic, Denmark, France, Germany and Sweden v. Poland) (PCIJ) Wimbledon Case (France v. Germany) (PCIJ) ix Foreword Landlocked States face major disadvantages. Their geographical location not only cuts them off from sea resources, it limits their access to seaborne and international trade. They have to rely on transit countries for access to ports and international markets. That may be one reason why, by and large, coastal regions tend to be more developed than inland ones. In view of the above, the international community has paid special attention to the situation of landlocked States and the vulnerability that entails. The interna- tional community has recognized, and in part addressed, some of the constraints they face through a number of international legal instruments and a plethora of political and normative instruments. In the course of the last century, through the constructive and concerted efforts of both landlocked and transit States, there has been considerable improvement in the situation of landlocked States. This study reviews the evolution of the regime of landlocked States, with spe- cial attention to the link between international law and development. The study provides a detailed historical account of the legal, and to some extent the politi- cal, relations of landlocked and transit countries and examines the difficulties all these countries have faced. It analyzes the three major facets of public interna- tional law (customary law, treaty law, and state practice) and goes into detail in the areas of both law and fact, in particular by reviewing a sample of the bilateral arrangements between landlocked and transit States. The Legal Vice Presidency is pleased to offer this study in the hope that it will provide a useful understanding to those concerned with the transit regime of land- locked States, and more generally with the relationship of law and development. Roberto Dañino Senior Vice President and General Counsel World Bank April 2005 xi Abstract This study traces the development of the international law related to the free access of landlocked States to and from the sea. Part I is a brief introduction to economic, institutional, and development-related challenges faced by landlocked States. Part II examines doctrines and theories that have influenced the evolution of the legal regime that applies to landlocked States. Part III reviews the progress the international community has achieved over the decades in devising legal mechanisms to address the problems these States face. It discusses enforcement of the right of access, in particular, the adminis- trative, institutional, and technical mechanisms used. The study further analyzes bilateral treaties and agreements dealing with the question of transit in different continents. These agreements aimed at facilitating transit between landlocked States and their transit neighbors provide for regimes that are tailored to the spe- cific geopolitical and socioeconomic needs of the parties.