A Study On The Dispute Settlement Mechanism Of The Marine Environment In The United Nations Convention On The Law Of The Sea

With the development of society and technology, the ocean has been used more and more deeply, the marine environment has attracted more and more worldwide concern and attention, disputes concerning marine environment also come one after another. In order to unify the ocean law system,160countries signed the "United Nations Convention on the law of the sea", known as the "sea charter", in1982. The fifteenth part of Convention, the dispute settlement mechanism, which is based on the the traditional peaceful principles and international practice, provides traditional methods and mandatory procedures lead to a binding judgment and carries out a series of innovation. Marine environmental dispute settlement mechanism should follow the convention’s provisions for dispute settlement.Convention has its characteristics, but also has its limitation that cannot ignore. The most important one is the conflict between marine environmental dispute settlement mechanism and the WTO dispute settlement body, especially under the background of such quickly developed free trade. The conflict between the marine environmental dispute settlement mechanism and the WTO dispute settlement body reflects the conflict between marine environment protection and development of free trade. The purpose of researching convention’s marine environment dispute settlement mechanism is to find the way to coordinate the conflict and promote the common development of marine environment protection and the development of free trade.This paper is divided into three chapters, the main contents are as follows:Chapter One is about the marine environmental dispute settlement mechanism of the United Nations Convention on the law of the sea. The author first introduces the history and the principles of the Convention, then puts emphasis on the marine environmental dispute settlement mechanism, including the traditional method (negotiation, mediation), and four kinds of compulsory procedures lead to binding judgment (the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the International Court of Justice, Ad Hoc Court of Arbitration, the Special Arbitral Tribunal). We can have a comprehensive understand on the role of the four ways above by its organization, jurisdiction and procedure. Moreover, the author also introduces an important procedure in solving marine dispute---provisional measures. Chapter Two is about the main characteristics and defects of the environmental dispute settlement mechanism of the Convention. The author describes the characteristics of marine environmental dispute settlement mechanism, including systemic, innovative, and also points out the problems in the mechanism, including a high degree of free choice, less guarantee of execution, and conflicts between the mechanism and other dispute settlement mechanisms. The author also reveals the conflict between the marine environmental dispute settlement mechanism and WTO dispute settlement body by case. Case concerning the conservation and sustainable exploration of swordfish stocks in south-eastern Pacific Ocean shows the conflict of jurisdiction between the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the WTO dispute settlement body, and the possibly opposite result in judgment and execution.Chapter Three is about exploring the way to coordinate the conflict between marine environmental protection and the development of free trade. The conflict between the marine environmental dispute settlement mechanism and the WTO dispute settlement body reflects the conflict between the protection of the marine environment and the development of free trade. The author firstly analyzes the inevitability of the conflict, different concepts, rules and considerable effect of two conventions may lead to the conflict. Then the author looks for ways to coordinate the conflict between the marine environment and free trade according to the reasons, including integrating concepts and strengthening international cooperation. Finally, the author wish to find suitable ways to promote environmental protection and trade according to China’s actual situation.