Abstract

As “the Constitution for the Ocean,” the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) provides a general normative framework for the regulation of ocean space. The finer details and specific obligations contained in UNCLOS are elaborated through the use of various techniques and mechanisms—one of which is the “rule of reference.” The “rule of reference” is a technique that incorporates existing rules and standards contained in external instruments into UNCLOS. As such, the rule of reference raises interesting questions regarding the extent to which it allows UNCLOS to deal with challenges that are not—or not sufficiently regulated—under the Convention. Such an inquiry requires a balancing exercise between, on the one hand, the cardinal principle of state consent under international law and, on the other, the need for UNCLOS to grow and adapt to new challenges. This article seeks to address this balance through the application of the rule of reference to two current challenges to the oceans, namely, climate change and conservation of marine biodiversity, in order to identify the room available for and the limits of using the rule of reference to expand the environmental regulatory scope of UNCLOS.

摘要

作为“海洋宪法”，1982 年的《联合国海洋法公约》（UNCLOS）为海洋空间的监管提供了一个通用的规范框架。《联合国海洋法公约》中包含的更详细的细节和具体义务是通过使用各种技术和机制来阐述的——其中之一就是“参考规则”。“参考规则”是一种将外部文书中包含的现有规则和标准纳入《联合国海洋法公约》的技术。因此，参考规则提出了一些有趣的问题，即它在多大程度上允许《公约》处理《公约》未规定或未充分规定的挑战。这样的调查需要在一方面根据国际法国家同意的基本原则与另一方面 联合国海洋法公约发展和适应新挑战的需要。本文旨在通过将参考规则应用于当前对海洋的两个挑战，即气候变化和海洋生物多样性保护，来解决这种平衡问题，以确定使用参考规则的空间和限制。扩大《联合国海洋法公约》环境监管范围。