Members of the International Water Law Academy Presented at the AsianSIL 2021

On 25 May 2021, under the main theme of “What future for Transboundary Water Cooperation across Asia: Reflections on evolving regional practice in the context of international law”, members of the International Water Law Academy, Patricia Wouters, Owen Mcintyre, David J Devlaeminck, Ana-Maria Daza-Clark and Liu Yang, gave presentations at the Panel 15 “International Environmental Law” of the 8th Biennial Conference of the Asian Society of International Law.

Based on the current practices of international water law, panelists explored the legal implications of “convergence of international water law” for Asian countries, considering regional practice, such a transboundary cooperation on the Lancang-Mekong River shared by China, Myanmar, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

Prof. Patricia Wouters, Director of the Academy convened this special panel, which featured Affiliates of the Academy:

·       Prof. Owen McIntyre explored the legal issues related to the fragmentation and convergence of international law as it relates to transboundary waters, arguing that this field offers a locus for examining this complex topic, providing a wide range of evidence in support.

·       Dr. David J Devlaeminck presented his research, “(E)merging Normativities in the Lancang-Mekong: Exploring Soft Cooperation in International Law”, discussing how the non-binding soft law instruments supporting the Belt & Road Initiative and the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation mechanism inform and influence international water law.

·       Dr. Ana Maria Daza-Clark considered the convergence of rules of International Investment Law and International Water Law, investigating how these two fields of international law interface, referring to state practice in this field. 

·       Dr. Yang Liu probed the legal issues related to institutional coordination for the protection and preservation of watercourses ecosystems under international water law, the Convention on Wetlands, and the Convention on Biodiversity, with an aim to find out some legal implications for the Lancang-Mekong River.

The panel thanked the AsianSIL 2021 for accepting this special panel featuring international water law, and for their exceptional conference programme.