JEAIL > Volume 9(2); 2016 > NOTES & COMMENTS
Research Paper
Published online: November 30, 2016
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2016.9.2.07

Problematic Expansion on Jurisdiction: Some Observation on the South China Sea Arbitration

Xiaoyi Zhang
#3 Maguanying Jiayuan, China Institute for Marine Affairs (CIMA), State Oceanic Administration, Fengtai District, Beijing 100161 P.R. China.
Corresponding Author: zhangxiaoyi@cima.gov.cn

ⓒ Copyright YIJUN Institute of International Law
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Following its jurisdictional decision in October 2015, the arbitral tribunal constituted under Annex VII to the UNCLOS issued its final award on July 12, 2016 in the South China Sea Arbitration case. It found overwhelmingly in favor of the Philippines. This article comments on two of the flaws regarding the issue of jurisdiction arising from both preliminary and final awards of the case. It firstly calls into question the inconsistent standard adopted in identifying jurisdictional obstacles, and finds a pro-jurisdictional bias in the Tribunal's awards. It further analyses the fallacious approach of fragmenting the maritime delimitation disputes, and suggests the legal conundrum of status and entitlement of maritime features related to Sino-Philippine sea boundary delimitation should not constitute a separate dispute subject to legal proceedings. By purposefully downplaying jurisdictional obstacles and exercising powers on false disputes, the tribunal raises doubts to its legitimacy.

Keywords : UNCLOS, Annex VII, Arbitral Tribunal, Jurisdiction, South China Sea, Maritime Delimitation

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