| The compulsory conciliation system in the UNCLOS is a combination of the general conciliation system and compulsory procedures.It has the characteristics of general conciliation,such as voluntary,flexible,and the conciliation report is not legally binding,at the same time the initiation of which is compulsory.Once China is involved in the compulsory conciliation system,the impact on China’s interests will be two-sided.China has always adopted "peaceful negotiations" as its main policy for the settlement of international disputes,and shows a backward-looking attitude toward the dispute settlement mechanism which is conducted by a third party.While taking the "South China Sea Arbitration Case" as a lesson,compulsory conciliation is also likely to be used by other countries to hurt China’s maritime sovereignty and other maritime legitimate rights and interests.Therefore,it is worth paying attention to the possibility of China being included in the compulsory conciliation system,and to what extent the system can benefit China and harm China’s interests once it initiates.This article contains five chapters,excluding the introduction and conclusion:The first part is an overview of the compulsory conciliation system.This article will start with the basic characteristics of the compulsory conciliation system,the generation history and the relevant provisions of it in the UNCLOS.The pre-conditions of initiating and original intentions are analyzed to lay a theoretical foundation for further research in the following.The second part is a case study of the compulsory conciliation system.The compulsory conciliation system in the UNCLOS has so far only one practical case,namely the compulsory conciliation case between Timor-Leste and Australia(hereinafter referred to as the“Timor sea conciliation case”).This article will introduce the background of the case,and then research and analyze the disputes between the two parties on the jurisdiction of the commission and the final jurisdictional decision of the conciliation committee and its basis,which will help to further explore the compulsory conciliation system in practice.Through existing case practices,the problems that may be faced might be more properly interpreted.The third part analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of the compulsory conciliation system.Through the discussion in the first part,the compulsory conciliation system reflects the combination of procedural compulsoryness and flexibility.The main difference compared with the general conciliation system is the compulsory initiation.Therefore,the compulsoryconciliation system also contains the advantages of the general conciliation system.At the same time,according to the analysis of the genneration history in the first part,it can be seen that the birth of compulsory conciliation system has experienced fierce competition for interests,so there must be some ambiguities and contradictions caused by compromise.The contradictions between the ariticles or the problems of proceed the conciliation process with only one party participation,etc.No matter which,These issues will directly affect the vital interests of the parties to the conciliation.The fourth part is the analysis of the possibility and possible impact of the compulsory conciliation system in China.This section mainly analyzes and compares the types of maritime disputes in which China has been involved and the initiation preconditions of the compulsory conciliation system,and concludes that China-involved maritime disputes cannot fully meet the initiation preconditions of the compulsory conciliation system.Subsequently,further combining the advantages and loopholes of the aforementioned compulsory conciliation system,a hypothetical approach was used to analyze the advantages and disadvantages that China would face if it entered into the compulsory conciliation.The fifth part is the enlightenment of the foregoing analysis conclusions on China’s attitude towards the compulsory conciliation system.According to the foregoing research conclusions,compulsory conciliation itself has both omissions and advantages,and these issues will further affect the interests of the parties involved in the procedure.Therefore,the impact of the system on China is two-sided.The compulsory nature of the it is not consistent with China’s peaceful negotiations policy,but a one-sided negative response may also cause the same unfavorable public opinion and political consequences as the "South China Sea Arbitration".Therefore,it is necessary for China to fully understand and use the rights conferred on the state parties by compulsory conciliation systems to minimize the negative effects of the system and to maximize its own interests. |
