Publications

(2024) The right to a healthy environment in and beyond the Anthropocene: a European perspective. p.72-92

Over the last couple of decades, the link between human rights and a healthy environment has been increasingly recognized. Although in most international human rights instruments there is no standalone human right to a healthy environment, the right has been indirectly acknowledged and confirmed before regional human rights courts or national courts. The recognition has so far predominantly related to issues of pollution that could clearly impact human health.1 More recently there have been (national) court cases that link human rights to climate change, like the Urgenda cases in the Netherlands and the case brought by Milieudefensie against Shell. 2 This chapter will examine an area of international law where the link between the human right to a healthy environment and environmental degradation seems less obvious, namely the link between biodiversity loss and human health. In recent years, we have seen a steady increase in attention to this link, both in science and in law. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the attention given to the link between biodiversity loss and its impact on human health.3 The core question in this chapter is to what extent an enforceable human right to a biodiverse environment is recognized in international law and how the link between biodiversity and the right to a healthy environment can be strengthened. First, this chapter will give a brief description of the link between biodiversity and human health. Next, the current situation in international legal documents will be examined, both in international human rights law, and in international environmental law. Finally, some suggestions as to the lege ferenda on the human right to a biodiverse environment will be made.

E. Ciravegna, L. van Hoof, C. Frier, Frank Maes (UGent) , H.B. Rasmussen, Anemoon Soete (UGent) and S.W.K. van den Burg (2024) MARINE POLICY. 161.

As ocean space increasingly is used for production purposes, such as for the production of food and feed, renewable energy and resource mining, competition for space becomes a concern. A spatial solution to this is to co -locate activities in a multi -use setting. Next to the direct (financial) costs and benefits of multi -use and the societal cost and benefits, there are other factors, in the realm of legal aspects, insurance, health and safety issues and the overall governance of multi -use, that determine whether multi -use can be implemented successfully. This includes transaction costs that arise when for example non -adequate regulation, governance and insurance schemes are in place. Based on the analysis of five case studies across Europe these combined/collective transaction costs of multi -use are analysed and suggestions how to reduce and/or overcome these transaction costs are presented.

Ward Van Roy, Jean-Baptiste Merveille, Annelore Van Nieuwenhove, Kobe Scheldeman and Frank Maes (UGent) (2024) MARINE POLICY. 159.

Since 2015, Belgium has undertaken remote measurement activities to monitor SO2 and NOx emissions from ships to single out ships for on-board inspections in ports. One of the main challenges in enhancing the enforcement capabilities revolves around using these remote measurements as legal evidence. Previous studies have demonstrated that when an appropriate measurement uncertainty is taken into account, remote measurements can provide scientifically reliable evidence to verify compliance to fuel sulphur standards (FSC) and even to NOx emission limits described by MARPOL Annex VI. Nonetheless, remote SO2 and NOx measurements have so far not been used for direct legal action. In the first section of this article, the potential use of these remote measurements as legal evidence within international and national legal instruments is examined. Furthermore, while there are guidelines to enforce compliance with FSC standards in port, there are currently no recognized methods to enforce real-world NOx emissions at sea. In this context, standardized remote measurement procedures could potentially become a valuable tool in combination with specific vessel data (keel laying year, engine rated speed, power, …), in establishing an enforcement mechanism for NOx. This would require specific changes to the current NOx regulations. Within the Bonn Agreement, the MARPOL Annex VI Working Groups identified certain regulatory gaps that need to be addressed in order to effectively reduce emissions from ships and improve enforcement capacity. In the second part of this article a critical analysis of these recommendations and the results of these discussions towards new regulations is presented.

(2024) INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MARINE AND COASTAL LAW. 39(3).

Together with its mineral resources, ‘the Area’ – comprising the seabed and subsoil beyond the boundaries of national jurisdiction – is designated as the ‘common heritage of mankind’. One of the predominant motivations behind the principle of the common heritage of mankind was to ensure fair sharing of the benefits derived from the Area by preventing a first-come first-serve race to the bottom of the ocean, which would mainly entitle developed nations – possessing the necessary expertise, technology and financial means to engage in deep sea mining – to the mineral resources of the deep seabed and would exclude most developing States from these economic opportunities. This important objective ought to be effected through a number of measures, but most of these measures have not yet been implemented by the International Seabed Authority or seem to be undermined by current developments.

103 INT’L L. STUD. 230 (2024)

As of today, the framework of ocean governance of coastal maritime areas created by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is well understood and accepted by the international community. However, there are large and important areas of ocean space around the world that are subject to a more nuanced framework of interrelated norms. These are maritime areas that have come under the effective control of occupying States, often through the use of force. As such, the legal framework applicable to these maritime areas is that of the law of occupation.

Nevertheless, because of the specificities of the zonal maritime regimes established under UNCLOS, the application of the law of occupation is seldom as straightforward at sea as it is on land. The objective of this article is therefore to shed some light on the application of the law of occupation at sea, and in doing so arrive at a comprehensive analysis of the rights and duties of occupying States in maritime areas.

(2024) NIEUW JURIDISCH WEEKBLAD. p.369-374

De auteur onderzoekt in welke mate de werkpunten en lacunes met betrekking tot transparantie, publieke participatie en toegang tot de rechter binnen de context van diepzeemijnbouw in de voorbije vier jaar aangepakt zijn. Hiermee blikt de auteur terug op zijn eerdere bijdrage die hij schreef met Hendrik Schoukens: “Procedurele milieurechten en diepzeemijnbouw. Terra incognita?”, in NjW verschenen op 15 januari 2020 in aflevering 414.

IAPH World Ports Tracker, EDITION 6 (Quarter 4, 2023)

(2024) OCEAN ENGINEERING. 300.

The shipping industry must delineate feasible switching pathways of emission reduction technologies for vessels if it wants to meet the emission reduction targets set forth by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). This paper introduces a programming model integrating power systems, alternative fuels, and air emission control measures to decarbonize bulk vessel operations. The model captures the uncertainty in fuel prices and carbon emission prices. Reliable decision-making schemes are generated using interval quadratic programming. The results reveal that power systems will switch from mono-fuel internal combustion engines (MF ICE) to dual-fuel internal combustion engines (DF ICE). Traditional fossil fuels will progressively give way to carbon-neutral alternatives. The combination of air emission control measures will markedly reduce emissions.

(2024) In UNCTAD Transport and Trade Facilitation Newsletter

Measuring trends in maritime markets is a dynamic process, as markets change over time. Regarding liner shipping trends, UNCTAD revised its well-established Liner Shipping Connectivity Index (LSCI) in mid-March 2024, adjusting the impact of vessel size on the final index measurements.

(2024) MARITIME ECONOMICS & LOGISTICS. 26(1). p.1-20

The attack of Hamas on Israel of October 7, 2023, and the military response of the latter in Gaza have made news headlines for much of the last quarter of 2023 and  early 2024. The international community has attempted to prevent escalation and the spreading of the conflict to other parts of the Middle East and the wider world.

Despite those efforts, a major security situation emerged in mid-November in the Red Sea and the Strait of Bab al-Mandab more specifically (map in Fig. 1), when  Houthi Rebels based in Yemen started to target international shipping transiting through the region. In a matter of weeks, the situation escalated, adversely affecting both shipping and trade.

(2024) TIJDSCHRIFT VERVOER & RECHT. p.3-12

Naast heel wat opportuniteiten, brengt het nieuwe Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ)-verdrag ook verschillende vragen met zich mee. De ambities zijn weliswaar duidelijk, maar hoe deze precies verwezenlijkt zullen worden en welke impact dit zal hebben op allerhande activiteiten op volle zee is vooralsnog minder helder. De component van het BBNJ-verdrag die in principe de grootste invloed op de scheepvaart teweeg zou moeten brengen, betreft de creatie van gebiedsgerichte beheersinstrumenten en – meer specifiek – mariene beschermde gebieden. Met het VN-Zeerechtverdrag als hoeksteen en diverse internationaalrechtelijke concepten ter verdere uitwerking ervan, kan het BBNJ-verdrag op een aantal instrumenten voortbouwen, maar de huidige praktijk met betrekking tot Special Areas en Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSA’s) toont aan dat de vrijheid van scheepvaart tot dusver de overhand heeft. Het BBNJ-verdrag faciliteert weliswaar de oprichting van mariene beschermde gebieden op volle zee en creëert een nieuw elan, maar aangezien de Internationale Maritieme Organisatie thans slechts zeer uitzonderlijk beperkingen oplegt aan het scheepvaartverkeer, lijkt een ingrijpende cultuuromslag in de nabije toekomst eerder onwaarschijnlijk. Indien er toch een dergelijke doorbraak komt, is het aangewezen om de potentiële gevolgen op het vlak van scheepvaartemissies in toenemende mate te betrekken bij het overleg omtrent mariene beschermde gebieden, zodat kortzichtige beslissingen – die de bredere context uit het oog verliezen – vermeden worden.

Marine Policy

With the oceans covering 70% of the world’s surface, one might be under the illusion that every State might find sufficient space for their activities, nothing could be further from the truth. This was proven once more in January 2022 and August 2023 when Russian vessels sought to engage in military exercises within strategic areas of the Irish and Norwegian exclusive economic zones (EEZs), choosing some of the local fishermen’s preferred locations in the process. Unlike their governments, the local fishermen refused to accept the Russian intrusions and via continuous protest through presence succeeded in forcing the Russian Navy to move the exercises to another area. This example is proof that to this day, the legal framework of the EEZ still gives rise to significant questions and uncertainties, often to the benefit of lawfare lawyers, especially in regards to foreign military activities and overlapping uses of the same area. Art. 56 LOSC awards sovereign resource rights to the coastal State, but arts. 58 and 87 LOSC grant the maritime user State the freedom to navigate. How to reconcile these different uses has for a long time occupied the minds of law of the sea lawyers. In this article, an attempt is made - utilizing a selection of national and international jurisprudence - to clarify the relation between these different uses of the EEZ, their permissibility and why the fishermen’s success in these cases might not so easily be translated into general international law.

(2024) L’intelligence portuaire : opération - innovation – projection. In Collection Les Océanides 8. p.9-12