Codification of International Law for Transboundary Aquifers by the United Nations

Abstract

One of the important functions of the United Nations General Assembly is to codify international law in order to establish the rule of law required for the justice and order of the international community. The UN International Law Commission is the subsidiary organ of the UN General Assembly which prepares the basic documents for such codification. The Commission embarked on the work of formulating draft articles on the law of transboundary aquifers in 2002. The author was appointed as the Special Rapporteur for this project and the Commission was able to report its final result to the UN General Assembly in 2008. The UN General Assembly is to make its decision on how to transform these draft articles into the treaty. Most States share transboundary aquifers with their neighbours. Groundwater is an indispensable life support resource for mankind and also the most heavily exploited single resource for which no alternative exists. The establishment of legal norms for the proper management of transboundary aquifers, protection of the environment, and international cooperation and the peaceful settlement of disputes among States sharing aquifers is urgently required by the international community. This forward is designed to present the background of the issue, explain how the draft articles are formulated in cooperation with hydrogeologists and groundwater administrators, and describe the main elements of the draft articles, the positions of various States and the future prospect of the draft articles.